Professor Faces Firing for Joke Tied to Shootings

[beyond]

Professor Faces Firing for Joke Tied to Shootings
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/16/ny...?smid=tw-share


After turning down the lights in his classroom at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Prof. Gregory F. Sullivan began showing a documentary and prepared to step out for a moment.
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But first, according to an internal personnel document, he paused to make a parting joke: “If someone with orange hair appears in the corner of the room,” he is said to have remarked to his students, “run for the exit.”

The joke — a reference to James E. Holmes, who is accused of fatally shooting 12 people and wounding 58 more last month in a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., and who dyed his hair bright orange — would not have been especially funny in any setting. But in this classroom, 11 days after the shootings, it was dreadful. One student’s father had been killed in the shootings. Hearing his teacher’s joke, the student left the room, obviously upset, according to the internal document.

The institution’s academic dean has recommended that Professor Sullivan, who, according to the internal document, said that he had been unaware of the student’s loss, be fired for the remark.

In a “notice of proposed removal” issued last week, the dean wrote that the joke constituted “notoriously disgraceful conduct” under the academy’s rules forbidding “misconduct generally criminal, infamous, dishonest or notoriously disgraceful.”

The notice said that Professor Sullivan, a tenured humanities instructor who has been at the academy, in Kings Point, N.Y., since 2006 and had a positive reputation among students, had offered a “quick and remorseful admission” to administrators and a “personal apology immediately following the incident” to the bereaved student and to the class as a whole.

But the notice said that Professor Sullivan “reasonably should have been aware” of the student’s loss, because the academy had sent out an academywide e-mail about it on July 25, because that student had been absent from Professor Sullivan’s course for several days and because the professor had given permission to two other classmates to miss class so that they could attend a funeral in Colorado.

“I find there is no lesser sanction to effectively address this misconduct” than dismissal, the dean, Shashi Kumar, wrote.

The notice, dated Aug. 10, informed Professor Sullivan that he had 10 days to contest his dismissal. He has been suspended in the meantime.

Professor Sullivan declined to comment, saying that the academy’s faculty was not permitted to speak with the news media unless the academy gave permission.

B. Robert Kreiser, a senior program officer in the department of academic freedom, tenure and governance at the American Association of University Professors, said that in “generally accepted principles of tenure,” a professor with tenure would receive a hearing before a faculty committee before charges would be brought. Professor Sullivan’s suspension, Mr. Kreiser continued, would be appropriate only if he “represents a threat to himself or to others.”

“Given that it was a single remark — an indefensible remark, but nonetheless a single remark, for which he has apologized — it’s hard to imagine why the administration decided he should be suspended” in the interim, he said.

The academy, which is near Great Neck, on Long Island, is a civilian institution run by the United States Transportation Department whose faculty members are federal employees. The academy trains students for careers in the marine trade, but it operates under the rules of military discipline. Its 1,000 or so students, who attend without charge, are organized into a regiment; many of its faculty members identify themselves by rank.

The academy is led by Rear Adm. James A. Helis, who said: “The academy’s first priority is the well-being of its students. As soon as I learned of the incident, I immediately placed the professor involved on administrative leave. and he is not teaching class at this time.”

“As with any investigation,” he added, “we are interviewing both students and faculty, and the professor will have the opportunity to respond before we issue our final determination.”

[proudmomcolorado]

[I]Top story, channel 9 news, 5 p.m., Denver, Co. It already took unbelievable courage for this 18 year old to return to school. This borders on being intentionally cruel.

[LineInTheSand]

It doesn't take unbelievable courage to return to a school, especially a relatively secure school with classmates you trust.

His immediate apology was likely.... saying something "clever", suddenly realizing what he had done, and apologizing to the student.

I've seen graduate students cry and leave a room for much much less (but grad students tend to be thin skinned).

[Pima]

LITS,

I beg to differ this is not about a secure environment regarding courage. This is about a child who lost their father in a blink of an eye. Emotionally you just don't go: Well the funeral is over, I am off to go back to school thousands of miles away, see you at Thanksgiving!

It takes a lot to get your head on straight and compartmentalize that pain so you can do what your father wanted...make a future for yourself. It takes a lot of courage to move forward and not take the easy route of leaving. Nobody would have thought less of him if he left under these circumstances, not talking about the remark, talking about the loss.

I hope you have not had to deal with the loss of a parent yet, but trust me, I have and mentally,emotionally it takes time to get back in a place of all there, more than just a week or two.

[jessibee2013]

It takes unbelievable courage!!!

[LineInTheSand]

We're devaluing the word "courage" much as we have done with the word "hero".



Is it hard? Yep. Do I feel for him, and other families involved? ABSOLUTELY!

I had classmates who lost their parents while we were cadets. We gathered around them and did whatever we could. After awhile your academy family becomes a part of your family. My best man at my wedding was my classmate and roommate. He was right there settling my nerves and ensuring I didn't pass out or puke at the alter.

Let's not say someone has courage because they have hardships that countless others have each day. I was never willing to call Gabby Giffords a "hero". She isn't.

To take it a step further and call it "unbelieveable" courage? No. Not in my book. It devalues the actions of others that is truely courageous.

I'm not willing to willy-nilly assign meaningful words to any old action or inaction.

[Pima]

LITS,

You know I respect you, but honestly I think you are 1000% off base.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear. ~Ambrose Redmoon

He is 18, lost a parent and now because this Professor said a stupid remark he is thrown into this media mix, while trying to maintain his grades, mourn the loss of his father and feel the guilt of a Professor liked by his students being dismissed, within what 11 days after his father was killed.

You nor I know his relationship with his father. You nor I know how his Mother or siblings are handling this loss. It takes a lot to go back to school and forget the fear that Mom and little sis/bro are at home packing up Dad's things.

That is courage.

I like you LITS, but WOW is all I can say when you posted this part

Originally Posted by LineInTheSand

. My best man at my wedding was my classmate and roommate. He was right there settling my nerves and ensuring I didn't pass out or puke at the alter.

Seriously??? I get you are family as an SA member perspective, but I don't get how you think there is an equivalent to the happiest day of your life and the saddest day of someone elses. I know you didn't mean to be crass with that comment. I know you were trying to illustrate the camaraderie, but for me you missed the mark big time.

Dad's death and wedding day jitters are not in the same ballpark, not in the same world, or planet. That was or should have been the happiest day of your life, not the saddest day. Honestly was there a chance in your mind that you would pass out or vomit on your wedding day? The night my father died, my sister, 34 yos vomited in his hospital room because she was crying so hard. My grandmother when my grandfather died had to be pulled away from the casket because she just wanted him to wake up.

I was 28 when I lost my father, I was not close to him, but my heart broke because he would never see his namesake, he would never see my sister and brother get married. My MIL is stage 4 cancer, 12 months at best, 8 grandchildren. She will never see a grandchild get married, and only see one graduate from college. My heart is breaking and I am 47. I have buried everyone of my grandparents and my father. I am preparing our children for her death. They have time to say what is needed to be said. This kid could have had an argument the last time they talked, something for the rest of his life he has to live with. He had no time to prepare.

You need to think about the pain that 18 yo child felt/feels. Anyone that has lost a parent at whatever age has respect for him and in their mind he showed courage to dust himself off and move forward, return to school a week after his father's death.

Sorry, but OMG this kid is courageous in my book.

[RelativeBearing]

For what it's worth, the following is a detailed account of the event by a 3/C midshipman who was there at the time. It was left as a comment on the gCaptain article.

I am a midshipman at the Academy and I would like to voice my view of the situation at hand the media coverage surrounding it. We were in S227. Those who have been in this auditorium classroom would agree it resembles a movie theater. The professor turned down the lights to begin the video, and one midshipman remarked “it’s like a movie theater,” to which the professor responded rather quietly, “If anyone sees a man with orange hair, run for the exit.” No one in the classroom caught his remark until the midshipman involved in the incident quietly got up, said something to the professor, and walked out of the classroom. The professor followed. At this point in time, the rest of us left in the classroom realized what had just happened. After about a minute, the professor returned to the classroom and turned off the video. He proceeded to apologize and completely fall on his sword. He told us that what he had done was incredibly dishonorable and that it was without excuse, particularly at a military academy where honor was held with such a high esteem. He told us, “Give me your worst, I deserve it.” No one in the class had a single stone to throw. The professor was so upset about what he had done, he was literally shaking as he apologized to the rest of the class. It was clear that he was not aware that anyone at the academy, let alone in the class had any connection to the horrendous shooting. We all understood that the joke was distasteful, however, it was not intended to be malicious. The professor dismissed the class and went directly to his department head to explain the incident that had occurred. As our section left the building, we all agreed not to tell anyone about the event. We did not want this to explode through the KP rumor mill or the press because we wanted to save our professor’s name and we did not want our friend to have to deal with more than was already on his plate. No one spoke. The next word we heard about it came more than a week later through an email from the Academic Dean requesting to speak with the section leader.

All eye-witnesses of the episode immediately accepted the professor’s unquestionably sincere apology and took measures to protect our friend from further infliction and our professor from public reprimand. The Academic Dean is now quoted saying the joke was ‘notoriously disgraceful conduct.’ My question for the administration is that knowing this subject was one of a particularly high sensitivity, why then did they not make a more forward effort to inform teachers of the circumstances. Could that joke not have been avoided if more preemptive measures had been taken? This situation was caused by a poor risk evaluation by the administration of the Academy. Just as we are taught in our management and logistics classes, even though there was a low probability that the topic would come up in a classroom setting, the consequences of the incident were high. Not only was there the possibility of additional emotional hurt to a midshipman already in a very difficult time, but there was a threat to the reputation of the Academy as an institution of honor and integrity. Due to the high impact of an event, regardless of the low probability, the administration should have done more than just send out an email. Anyone who is connected to the Academy’s email system knows that there is an incredible about of emails blasted out every day that have little to no pertinence to the party receiving them. Therefore, there is a good possibility that the professor overlooked the email allegedly sent on July 25th as it was the day before school started and everyone was getting large amounts of emails that did not pertaining to most the people they were sent to. As a professional, the professor should have been more prudent when sifting through his email, however, this does not excuse the administration of not making a more direct effort to inform the instructors of the shooting’s proximity to the Academy.

Lastly, the Academy preaches the Office of External Affairs’ press policy to all midshipmen and faculty to “help build and protect the image of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, “and to “ensure the privacy of our midshipmen and the security of our campus.” Why then, and for what purpose, has the administration been talking to the press about this subject? The actions of the professor certainly do not reflect the image we want broadcasted by the media, and the now national coverage of the event in that classroom surely does not protect the privacy of my fellow midshipman who was involved. Additionally, I can only imagine how much this media coverage adds to my section mate’s burden and heartache. There is no advantage to further discuss this subject, therefore I ask that all who truly care about the Academy, the midshipman, and his family to stop buying in to the sensationalist tendencies that a story of this nature can cultivate and to focus on the betterment of the Academy through improvement of the administrative and political structure surrounding this institution. Thank you.

[kdbax]

As a postscript - according to the NY Times today, the professor has been given a 45-day suspension and will not be terminated.

[Kram1]

Personally...and only my opinion..I think a 45-day suspension is unwarranted and much too severe, BUT am very pleased to see that the professor in question will retain his position. Good to see that cooler and rational minds prevailed here....