Vermont Law School Revokes Tenure, Cuts Salaries for Faculty In Bid to Close Budget Deficit

South Royalton — Vermont Law School has revoked the tenure of several professors and cut teaching salaries in a bid to close a $1 million gap in the annual operating budget.

Some of the faculty members said they were blindsided by the move by VLS Dean and President Thomas McHenry to renegotiate teaching contracts that lowered their pay and, for some, removed their tenure status.

“I negotiated what I could say. And now I’m going to say it,” said constitutional law professor Peter Teachout, who said he is one of 14 faculty members who lost tenure during a round of contract negotiations that ended on July 1. “I’ve agreed to a significant reduction in salary in return for a significant reduction in administrative obligations, which will allow me to concentrate all my energy on teaching and writing.”

Teachout, who has been with the law school since 1975, three years after it was founded, said he needed to choose his words carefully because he, like all of the faculty whose employment status has changed, is now bound by a nondisclosure agreement.

Read more: https://www.vnews.com/Vermont-Law-School-professors-lose-tenure-18873357