DURHAM, N.H. -- The University of New Hampshire has filed an appeal in Strafford County Superior Court requesting reversal of an independent arbitrator's ruling that the university did not have grounds to terminate the employment of Professor Marco Dorfsman after he admitted to intentionally lowering the student evaluations of another faculty member.

The university filed its appeal because the arbitrator lacked the authority to decide upon a lesser sanction after upholding the university's finding that Professor Dorfsman's misconduct constituted moral turpitude. Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement in place between the university and the American Association of University Professors, the union that represents tenure-track full-time faculty, a finding of moral turpitude constituted the just cause required for termination.

The university asks the court to find that the arbitrator exceeded his authority and that the university was justified in its decision to terminate Professor Dorfsman. The appeal was filed Dec. 13, 2013.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,300 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students.

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