Court upholds Groningen University lecturer's dismissal despite student protests

The University of Groningen acted justifiably when it dismissed Associate Professor Susanne Täuber “due to seriously disrupted relations,” the Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal said in a ruling issued on Wednesday. The university also made enough effort to find her another position. The university, known by the acronym RUG, does not have to hire her again, as Täuber had demanded.

The senior lecturer was fired in March, which led to unrest at the RUG. Several dozen students defended her by staging a demonstration to take over the university’s Academiegebouw. They also demanded Täuber’s reinstatement. Employees and academic researchers also came to her defense.

The subdistrict court ruled in favor of the RUG in March, and the appeals court came to the same conclusion. In its ruling, the court said it could not accept the argument that the RUG thwarted the associate professor’s career with “false and arbitrary arguments.” These “unjustified accusations” from Täuber disrupted the employment relationship with her management just before she published a critical essay about the situation.

According to Täuber, that essay is the actual reason for her dismissal. The essay was about the how special processes for hiring women for senior positions can be counterproductive. Such a program can actually lead to discrimination, the associate professor stated.

Täuber claimed that program was the reason she was denied a promotion. Täuber felt that the fact that she spoke out about this in a published essay, and her subsequent termination, infringed “on her freedom of expression.”

The appeals court verdict said it saw insufficient connection between this publication and the dismissal “which was submitted two and a half years later.” Therefore, the court found that there was no trampling of her right to free speech as a lecturer.

Täuber has since been hired by the University of Amsterdam.