Professors Sue Tufts University Over Required Fundraising

Eight professors at Tufts Medical School – who research cancer, addiction, autism and other topics – are suing the university, claiming the school is violating their tenure contracts, The Boston Globe reported.

They’re alleging that since 2017, the school has required them to bring in large outside grants, making up at least 40 percent of their salary. The professors – who have all been at Tufts for at least 20 years – said this wasn’t the case when they were tenured and it hurts faculty whose research topics generate less federal funding, which curtails their academic freedom.

The complaint accuses the university of penalizing professors who don’t reach a certain level of outside funding by reducing their incomes, cutting their hours, and downsizing or even closing their labs.

Professors are asking the court to order Tufts to not base compensation and lab space on outside funding for faculty tenured before 2017.