Facts
- Alison B. Lovell was hired by Ohio Wesleyan University as a probationary assistant professor in the Department of Humanities and Classics.
- Lovell worked under three consecutive one-year faculty contracts for academic years 2007–2008, 2008–2009, and 2009–2010.
- Lovell’s written contract incorporated portions of the university’s Faculty Handbook governing faculty contracts and reappointment review (including Chapter III, addressing policies and procedures for faculty contracts).
- The handbook set out three criteria for probationary-faculty evaluation and assigned weights to each: teaching (60%), scholarship (30%), and service (10%).
- When Lovell came up for reappointment after three years, she received strong student evaluations for teaching.
- The university nevertheless denied reappointment and stated that Lovell’s lack of collegiality was the primary reason.
- The collegiality concerns included allegations that Lovell did not participate in committee work (a service function) and that she objected to peer/teaching observations and related departmental practices.
- Lovell pursued the university’s internal appeal process but did not obtain reversal of the reappointment decision.
- Lovell then sued Ohio Wesleyan for breach of contract, claiming the university violated the contractual evaluation scheme by using “collegiality,” a factor not listed in the handbook’s 60/30/10 criteria.
Issues
- What materials formed the parties’ contract—specifically, whether the contract incorporated only identified handbook provisions (such as Chapter III) or the entire Faculty Handbook.
- Whether the university breached the contract by treating “collegiality” as a basis for nonreappointment when the handbook listed only teaching, scholarship, and service as criteria with specified weights.
- Whether the university breached the contract by failing to carry out the evaluation, notice, and internal appeal procedures required by the incorporated handbook provisions.
Decision
- The Court of Appeals of Ohio, Fifth Appellate District, affirmed the trial court’s judgment for Ohio Wesleyan after a bench trial.
- The court agreed that Lovell’s contracts incorporated handbook provisions governing reappointment review and related procedures, and it rejected Lovell’s broader argument that the entire handbook necessarily supplied additional enforceable contractual terms.
- The court held that Ohio Wesleyan did not breach the contract by considering collegiality because collegiality reasonably relates to the contract’s stated criteria—particularly teaching and service—rather than operating as an unauthorized fourth criterion.
- The court found sufficient support for the trial court’s finding that the university substantially carried out the required process for review, notice of nonrenewal, and internal appeals.
- Applying the standard governing review of a bench-trial judgment, the court declined to reweigh evidence and upheld the judgment where competent, credible evidence supported the trial court’s findings.
Legal Principles
- A faculty employment contract may incorporate faculty-handbook provisions by reference; the incorporated provisions, rather than the entire handbook by default, define the enforceable contractual obligations.
- Where a handbook lists evaluation categories (teaching, scholarship, service) with assigned weights, a university may consider collegiality as part of those categories when the conduct at issue bears on instructional work and institutional/departmental responsibilities.
- A breach-of-contract claim based on alleged procedural defects fails where the university substantially performs the incorporated evaluation and appeal procedures and the trial court’s factual findings are supported by competent, credible evidence.
- On appeal from a bench trial, an appellate court reviews legal questions such as contract interpretation independently but gives weight to the trial court’s supported factual determinations.
Conclusion
The appellate court affirmed judgment for Ohio Wesleyan University, holding that the faculty-handbook criteria incorporated into Lovell’s contract allowed consideration of collegiality within teaching, scholarship, and service, and that the university’s process for nonreappointment and internal review was carried out sufficiently to defeat Lovell’s breach-of-contract claim.