Unilateral Control vs. Mandatory Consultation

Teachers and students must always remain free to inquire, to study and to evaluate, to gain new maturity and understanding; otherwise our civilization will stagnate and die.
– US Supreme Court Sweezy v. New Hampshire, 354 U.S. 234 (1957)

You know they shouldn't change the rules during the game. Don't let them change your career protections before Virginia law protects your voice and your property interests!

The proposed changes to eliminate tenure are being rushed through in an attempt to circumvent a new Virginia law that goes into effect 1 July 2026. SB494 codifies faculty due process rights and explicitly makes it harder for administrations to use "strategic realignment" or "program redirection" as a pretext for firing specific faculty.

Recent VCU policy updates (2025) have moved Post-Tenure Review into a standalone policy rather than keeping it inside the main P&T document. This separation often makes it easier for an administration to change the rules of post-tenure review (making it more frequent or more punitive) without having to reopen the entire P&T policy.

Critically, this is a one-two punch with the second punch requiring department chairs to rate 10% of faculty as unsatisfactory each evaluation period.

Do not let VCU changes these rules in advance of the protections offered faculty by the new law.

Sign the petition asking Faculty Senate not to implement this
Contact your faculty senate representative (click here for a list)
Scan the QR code to learn more
Get involved - they are giving us a short window to respond (16 April)

Signed, FairPlayVCU.org