Opinion
June 11, 1979
In a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 to compel respondents to reinstate petitioner to his position, with back pay, petitioner appeals from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Nassau County, entered May 26, 1978, which dismissed the petition on the ground of petitioner's failure to exhaust "remedies available in the grievance procedure." Judgment affirmed, without costs or disbursements. Petitioner was discharged from his position as an associate professor at a private university on the ground of professional misconduct, following a hearing. He, however, refused to arbitrate the grievance of his alleged wrongful discharge, maintaining that public policy forbids arbitration of the discharge of a tenured professor for cause. This position is erroneous (see Board of Educ. v. Associated Teachers of Huntington, 30 N.Y.2d 122, 132; cf. Matter of Abramovich v. Board of Educ., 46 N.Y.2d 450, 455-456; Binghamton Civ. Serv. Forum v. City of Binghamton, 44 N.Y.2d 23, 29-30; Antinore v. State of New York, 49 A.D.2d 6, affd 40 N.Y.2d 921). Once it is established that the petitioner was obligated to arbitrate the grievance under the collective bargaining agreement then in effect, his failure to do so operates to bar this judicial proceeding (see, e.g., Rieder v. State Univ. of N.Y., 39 N.Y.2d 845, 846; Matter of Barhite v. Dyson, 63 A.D.2d 1051, 1052; Matter of Houghton v. Schuler, 61 A.D.2d 1104, 1105; Merante v. Burns, 47 A.D.2d 671). Mollen, P.J., Damiani, O'Connor and Rabin, JJ., concur.