TAA member Kent D. Kauffman, J.D. has signed a contract with Rowman & Littlefield to author a legal, professional development book on the key legal issues that college and graduate faculty face in their academic lives. The book will be published in late 2024 or early 2025 and is tentatively titled, Navigating Choppy Waters: Key Legal Issues College Faculty Need to Know (Before the Semester Ends).

Kauffman is an Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics and MBA Programs Faculty Liaison at the Doermer School of Business at Purdue University-Fort Wayne, and was a recipient of a 2019 TAA McGuffey Longevity Award for his textbook, Legal Terminology.

Some of the topics in the forthcoming book include academic freedom; liability risks when grading; legal issues for faculty around Artificial Intelligence; FERPA and faculty liability risks; intellectual property issues for faculty; syllabi and breach of contract lawsuits; and the law on nontenured faculty and employment rights, tenure and tenure denial, and tenured faculty being fired.

“I sent my book proposal in the summer and then negotiated with three publishers who offered me contracts, and wrote the manuscript draft the past seven months,” he said. “My hope is to provide a book that substantively addresses the legal ‘stuff,’ but is interesting, accessible and helpful. I think the book is timely, and I trust it will be beneficial to faculty of all career stages.”

Congratulations Kent!

Kauffman is currently seeking reviewers for the book, those willing to review either a chapter or the entire manuscript (70,000 words-plus). If you are interested in serving as a reviewer, please contact Kent directly at kauffmak@pfw.edu.