"They grilled Peter for an hour and forty minutes," Nesson said, stressing the legalistic approach of the Docket Committee members.

"They asked repeatedly about the applicable rules, relevant precedents, quality of evidence and coherence of my arguments," Berkowitz said.

In defending himself before the committee, Berkowitz said he mentioned that he submitted a list of 37 questions about his tenure evaluation to Dean of FAS Jeremy R. Knowles twice in the fall of 1998. He said he has received no response.

"Much of the information that we regard as relevant we don't have access to," Berkowitz said.

"I found their examination a rather labor-intensive effort for a committee that is not authorized to act as a deliberative body and which is obliged to pass on grievances to the next stage unless they are 'clearly without merit,'" Berkowitz added.

None of the members of the Docket Committee was available for comment, but Berkowitz reported they have notified him that they will reach a decision by the "end of the term."

If the Docket Committee determines that his complaint is not frivolous, the University's guidelines dictate that an Ad Hoc Grievance Panel be formed to investigate and resolve the matter.

Berkowitz called his meeting with the Docket Committee "unprecedented." The University's Guidelines for the Resolution of Faculty Grievances contains no language about a grievant's coming before this body.