COLLEGE PARK, Md.--The first Black hired by the art department of the University of Maryland was dismissed this month, following a unanimous decision by a panel of art faculty not to grant the assistant professor tenure.

James Reid, the dismissed professor, charged the University with discrimination in denying him tenure while promoting white faculty members who entered the art department after he did, in a complaint filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He also said the decision against his tenure violated University policies.

According to a report by an art department appeals board, the tenure review panel failed to follow University tenure procedures that call for all faculty members on the review committee to be senior in rank to the person under consideration. Four members of the review panel were not higher in rank than Reid, the report states, adding that the panel also failed to provide evidence that the department conducted yearly conferences with Reid on his progress toward becoming tenured.

Victim of System

Reid said he will "take a hard stance" because he does not "relish the idea of being a victim of the system," adding that he remains one of the lowest paid members of the department.