University committee says fired tenured professor

did not receive due process, should be reinstated

By Sara Garcia, Texan News Service

A former Tarleton State University professor accused of having child pornography on his computer was fired without due process and should be reinstated, a university committee has recommended.

In a report to Tarleton President Dennis McCabe, the Committee on Academic Freedom, Responsibility and Tenure recommended that the university “immediately rescind the termination” of Thomas Dougherty, a 42-year-old tenured associate professor of psychology. However, the committee added that the university did have “good cause” to start termination procedures against him.

It is not immediately clear what impact the committee’s recommendation will have on a pending criminal case against Dougherty. Dougherty could not be reached for comment. Defense attorney Robert Glasgow did not return a phone call to his office. A spokeswoman for the university said officials would not be able to comment on the committee’s report.

The March 6 three-page letter was released Thursday by the Texas A&M University System in response to an open records request from the Texan News Service. Dougherty was terminated Dec. 13 and appealed his dismissal to the nine-person committee. The committee, which was chaired by associate professor of human science Richard Sale, took testimony from faculty and staff about the case in late February. Sale declined comment except to say, “I have no knowledge on what the university plans to do.”

Dougherty “admitted using system property for accessing and storing videos considered obscene by those who viewed them,” the committee said. The committee said his actions were “viewed as a serious breach of system policy.”

Although it concluded that he was terminated without due process, the committee also stated that the university had acted in good faith. The letter included italics for emphasis.

“In summary, technically the university did have good cause to start termination procedures,” the letter stated. “However, while the university acted in good faith, due process was not afforded.”

The committee’s letter also revealed some disagreement among committee members about the case. According to the letter, the committee decided by a vote of 6-to-3 “that the university terminated Dr. Dougherty’s employment with good cause,” by a vote of 9-to-0 “that the university had good cause to begin termination proceedings against Dr. Dougherty” and by a vote of 8-to-1 that the “university terminated Dr. Dougherty without due process.”

The committee also found that Tarleton did not have a written procedure for summary dismissal. It recommended creating a Faculty Senate task force to develop a procedure for summary dismissals and submit them to the Texas A&M System for approval.

The committee also said “the preponderance of evidence” did not show that Dougherty was given an opportunity to respond to an administrator prior to being fired and noted the “short period of time between notification and termination.”

Dougherty was placed on administrative leave with pay by the university on Dec. 10. He was terminated Dec. 13 for “use of system property for illegal activity to intentionally access, create, store or transmit obscene materials.” Dougherty was indicted by an Erath County Grand Jury March 27 on three counts of possession of child pornography. He has pleaded not guilty.

Dougherty remains free on $30,000 bail. A trial is scheduled for May 12.

The Texan News Service is a product of Tarleton State University’s journalism program. Contact us at texannews@tarleton.edu.