Wells v. Tennessee Board of Regents

In this direct appeal, we must review the Chancery Courts reversal of the Tennessee Board of Regents decision to terminate a tenured faculty member at Tennessee State University on the statutory ground of "capricious disregard of accepted standards of professional conduct." The Tennessee Board of Regents challenges the decision of the Chancery Court on several grounds, insisting primarily that the Chancellor failed to consider properly admitted evidence which established the charge by clear and convincing evidence. The Board of Regents also takes issue with the Chancellors finding that the professor was denied due process because he received insufficient notice of the allegations against him. After a thorough review of the record, we agree that the Chancellor committed error by disregarding the testimony of one witness and by finding that the professor received insufficient notice. However, despite these errors, we conclude that the evidence does not preponderate against the Chancellors findings and therefore affirm the judgment of the trial court.