A special review committee has been unsuccessful at resolvinga tenure dispute between UND violin professor Barbara Rask and the music department.

The five-member faculty, committee is asking the music department to take another look at her performance record. And it is referring the case of another university committee according to Carla Hess. She's a UND professor of communication disorders who chaired the review of Rask's appeal this fall.

Rask has taught at UND for seven years and is concertmaster of the Greater Grand Forks Symphony. She describes herself as a fundamentalist Christian and has argued that her constitutional freedom of religion is one of the issues in the tenure dispute. She's appealing a university decision denying her tenure.

She says her religious beliefs were a big reason the music department decided against renewing her teaching contract next year.

Rask said, for example, that when she confronted other faculty in a chamber music trio about "constant swearing" and "taking the Lord's name in vain during rehearsals, they said, "Get used to it."

Music Department Chairman John Deal denies her allegations that religion was a factor. "Barb Rask has made the claim her religious freedom was violated. But I've see no proof of that," he said.

Rask says the special review committee's decision to refer the case to the University Senate and call for new evaluations by the music faculty was encouraging.

Hess said the majority of her review committee felt Rask was given "inadequate consideration" in her music performance ratings.

The case is being referred this week to the University Senate's Standing Committee on Faculty Rights. It can make recommendations to UND President Thomas Clifford.

Grand Forks Herald, December 5, 1991

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