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A summary of case law, primarily in the college and university setting, under the various theories of liability currently being used to challenge the traditional doctrine of employment-at-will, looks at recent court decisions in wrongful discharge actions and the contract and tort theories evolving from them. (MSE)

Fourteen university claims filed in the wake of the Yeshiva decision, to avoid collective bargaining with faculty, are analyzed. It is concluded that neither the National Labor Relations Board nor any regional board has created, in these dispositions, a governance model typefying the "mature" university needed to evaluate faculty authority. (MSE)

In conjunction with court decisions on financial exigency, the Yeshiva decision has an ironic consequence: tenured faculty can be managers for the purpose of exclusion from protection by the National Labor Relations Act, but at the same time have no managerial role in determining staff reduction in financial exigency cases. (MSE)

County of Washington v. Gunther is discussed--a case that dramatically widened the set of circumstances that may be used to provide legal standing for a suit alleging sex discrimination in faculty and staff salaries. The theory of "comparable worth" was supported by the Supreme Court. (MLW)

The Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Materials Importation Act of 1966 mandates duty free entry of equipment into the United States under certain conditions. The decision in the University of North Carolina v. United States Department of Commerce endorses the independence of American scientific research from one form of government control. (MLW)

At each stage in the history of copyright law, technological innovation has been a central problem to policy makers. Because videorecording in an instructional context is for noncommerical, educational purposes, issues involving the doctrine of fair use and the public's interest in the free dissemination of information are raised. (MLW)

The most common grounds for dismissing tenured faculty have been incompetence, immorality, neglect of duty, and insubordination. Judicial evaluations of substantive grounds for dismissing tenured postsecondary faculty for cause are discussed. (MLW)

In the class action suits that have been filed against universities alleging discrimination on the basis of sex in regard to faculty salaries, the task for the courts has revolved around reviewing statistical analyses as the determinant of the existence of actionable discrimination. (Author/MLW)

Effective July 1, 1983, student aid administered by the federal government will be withheld from any student who cannot prove that he has registered for the draft. A nonregistrant cannot argue that he has a constitutional right to higher education; however, he does seem deserving of some protection. (MLW)

The conflict that often develops between university administrations and students wishing to form a gay student organization is discussed. Cases addressing the rights of gay student organizations are analyzed. (MLW)

An analysis of problems relating to university patents today is presented, and a policy for the institution which addresses the issues that these problems present is suggested. Patenting the results of university research would not delay the publication of research and would provide a needed source of funding. (Author/MLW)

Argues that enforcement of Title VII in academic institutions has been hampered by protection of the confidentiality of the peer review process, and that in a Title VII case it is important to expose the substance of the peer-review process because such evidence may provide a manifestation of biases in the litigated employment decision. (MLF)

Reviews the history of court cases involving desegregation of public facilities, housing, quality education, and employment since 1964. Argues that although advances have barely outnumbered setbacks, the progress that has been made cannot be eroded. Evaluation of progress is based on goals put forward by Martin Luther King's "March on Washington" speech. (KH)

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recently promulgated rules that make athletes' initial eligibility conditional upon the achievement of certain scores on college entrance examinations and completion of a specified high school curriculum with a minimum grade point average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale. The changes were instituted to "assert the supremacy of academic values" in collegiate sports and to "preserve the integrity of the NCAA and of our [college] institutions." Some presidents of historically black colleges opposed the rules, claiming that they were "patently racist" and a "disservice to Blacks and other Americans who aspire to attain a higher education by participating in intercollegiate athletics." This article explores the serious factual, legal, and policy questions presented by the NCAA's action. It discusses the process in which the new initial eligibility changes were formulated; the specific rule changes that were made; the reaction to those changes; the potential impact they may have; the legal issues presented by the changes; and the future of integrity in college athletics. It is concluded that the adoption of the new requirements was a fine gesture in spirit, but poorly executed and inadequately reasoned, and further considerations are needed. (JD)

The ability of a university to do research free from undue interference is discussed in light of two court cases: Buchanan vs. American Motors Corp. and Dow Chemical Co. vs. Allen. Their principal significance lies in sparing nonparty researchers from the discovery process notwithstanding the acknowledged breadth of discovery. (MLW)

Whether words that are first spoken to an interviewer but end up as an edited transcript for the use of scholars and writers can receive copyright protection under the 1976 Federal Copyright Act is discussed. Ample precedent exists to determine that oral history is copyrightable. (MLW)

The power of the university to breach faculty contracts in order to meet its temporary cash-flow problems and the rights of faculty when this breach occurs are discussed. To avoid litigation, a university must have established internal guidelines which can be incorporated into an employment contract. (MLW)

The legal aspects of athletic injuries could become major issue. A recent Indiana case, in which a college football player suffered an injury which rendered him a quadriplegic, is discussed. Relevant case law and the policy implications of applying worker's compensation law to scholarship athletes is discussed. (Author/MLW)

Public access to scientific research obtained by faculty employed at state universities, it is suggested, should be restricted until proprietary rights have been secured. Public access to a state university's research denies that institution a proprietary right, and severely discourages the promotion of high quality basic research. (MLW)

The wide range of reproductive hazards encountered by university employees in a variety of job classifications are outlined, and the legal issues raised by possible employment discrimination claims and potential tort liability for reproductive injuries are discussed. Employer responses to the problem and public policy concerns are also examined. (MSE)