Former Lausanne program director, Mary Mayenfisch-Tobin, is in the latter stages of appealing her termination which occurred over the summer. Provost Darryl Tippens is in the process of considering the appeal, according to Mayenfisch-Tobin.
Pepperdine administrators are unable to offer information on the reasons surrounding Mayenfisch-Tobin’s firing since it is a personnel matter.
Tippens could, however, comment on how the appeal process works. He said that the appeal process is multi-level, similar to how appellate courts work. If an employee feels that he or she has been unfairly treated, the employee can appeal the termination decision. New information and data can be brought in during the appeal process.
Since Dr. Charles Hall, the dean of International Programs, made the original decision, the appeal was first handled by Hall’s supervisor. In this case, this happened to be the dean of Seaver College, Dr. Rick Marrs.
The results of this first review may also be appealed. The appeal then has the potential to move one step higher to someone at the Senior Vice President level. The natural progression would be for the appeal to move to Tippens, since Marrs reports to him, Tippens said. The appeal will end with the decision made at this level.
Mayenfisch-Tobin, through email, also commented on the progress of her appeal: “I have appealed the result of the internal inquiry examined by Dean Marrs. Provost Tippens is the person in charge of this appeal.”
Section 30 of the University Policy Manual also outlines this appeal process and states, “The final appeal officer shall make a final decision based on the written complaint, the written response, the supervisor’s written decision, the written request for appeal and for final appeal, and any written response to the request for appeal or request for final appeal. The decision of the final appeal officer shall be final.”
The formal explanation of the appeal process can be found, in its entirety, at http://community.pepperdine.edu/hr/policies/policymanual.htm#30-0.
The manual states that this decision should be made within a reasonable amount of time, and Tippens said that the decision will be made in a matter of days or weeks, not months.
Mayenfisch-Tobin has worked with the Lausanne program since its inception in 2007.
In addition to her work with the Lausanne program, Mayenfisch-Tobin works as a lobbyist for Amnesty International’s Business and Human Rights group in Berne and is the president of Business and Professional Women in Lausanne.
