As colleges in New Orleans dismiss tenured faculty members, cut academic programs, and take other measures they say are necessary to rebound from the devastating economic impact of Hurricane Katrina, one faculty group is watching closely.

The American Association of University Professors has convened a nine-member committee to examine such actions, after receiving dozens of complaints from professors who have lost their jobs. The committee, which was announced this spring and met for the first time on Wednesday, will analyze the effects of Katrina on colleges in the Gulf Coast area and how they are handling any restructuring (The Chronicle, May 26).

Specifically, the panel will look at whether colleges followed their own policies in creating restructuring plans, whether college officials are following AAUP guidelines for laying off tenured faculty members and cutting programs in cases of financial exigency, whether faculty members have had adequate input, and finally, whether some policies can by trumped by extreme circumstances.

Jonathan Knight, director of the AAUP’s department of academic freedom and governance, said the committee is mostly gathering information at this point. It has also sent letters to top administrators at some colleges to clarify the AAUP’s positions. The committee will meet next in August, in New Orleans.

For more on the impact of the hurricane on higher education, see a special in-depth section of this Web site.