Posted on 02/12/2010 2:46:58 PM PST by halo66
WHNT NEWS 19 Staff Reports 4:37 PM CST, February 12, 2010
HUNTSVILLE, AL - There are reports of a shooting at UAHuntsville, at the Shelby Center. We understand the campus is in lockdown.
Sources close to the investigation tell WHNT NEWS 19 two people were killed and two are in critical condition. We understand two people are in custody, possibly a woman and her husband. They're not sure if there are other suspects out there. We've also been told all the victims are faculty.
From what my husband heard earlier.......she received her ‘denial for tenure’ @ 10:00 this morning. Then popped into the staff meeting this afternoon for a little ‘revenge’.
I told my husband (and this has ALWAYS been in the back of my mind) that I was worried about him. Sometimes he has to give failing grades....he even kicked a few students out for plagiarism. He’s received A LOT of attitude from ‘entitlement types’. It only takes one nutcase.....and they are unable to defend themselves. Security on his campus is pretty lax. I would feel better if he ‘packed heat’ in his desk drawer.....but rules, rules, rules.
He was tapped for the dean’s position and decided not to take it because of the requirements and a pittance increase in salary. Seriously....I think ‘dean’ would have put him in more of a compromising position....having the ‘ultimate say’ of a matter. But....who knows.
Just on a whim, I did a Google search on the shooter. Last year, she led an effort to censure the university president for mandating that freshmen and sophomores must live in dormitories. She told a local newspaper that the policy would create “separate” economic and social strata on the campus.
Not exactly a smart move, considering that she was up for tenure. Looks like she was involved in a number of high-profile research projects, and neither she (nor the university) were shy about publicizing her efforts.
Looks like she had the “research” side of her job down pat, but couldn’t resist the temptation to play Harvard-style political games. That might have worked at Cambridge, but I’ve met plenty of small college presidents who run their institutions with an iron first. I’m guessing that once she introduced that censure motion, she was toast, and went postal after being denied tenure.
At research oriented schools, you need to publish in the top journals. In the sciences and engineering, you need to generate research dollars also. Business schools are not much concerned with research dollars so I have not put much energy into funded research. It is a hustle to bring research dollars. You need to get established and not slack off because competiton is intense.
Probably more envy than revenge.
I guess a sabbatical would have been straight out.
But what I’m asking....is one required to publish during the ‘review period’ before tenure is granted (or not)? My husband USED to work for a uni and was required to publish.....but at a college level.....is not (which is FINE by him, btw, LOL!) Heck......he just does book reviews for publishers for extra $$$. ;-)
Tenure decisions can be controversial and influenced by personnel issues. The tenure decision starts at the department or college level and then moves higher in the institution. The personal issues are usually at the first level. If there is a bad decision at the first level, the higher levels will override. Personal issues are usually not at issue at higher levels. It sounds like the denial was at the first level. The process was not nearly finished if the denial was just at the first level. Typically, you do not get a decision until the process is completely finished.
She was foolish to get involved in battles with the university president. It may have been a factor in her denial. If she had a strong research record, she should have been able to find employment elsewhere. I am not sure why she should think that the world had crashed upon her.
Oh, she’s going to get one HELL of a sabbatical......that’s for sure.
At a research oriented university, you are expected to publish before you even arrive. You cannot get past early levels of reviews if you do not show a promising publication record. As a rough rule, one publication per year is about average. If you are really productive, you will have several per year in top journals along with conference papers.
At a research oriented university, you typically teach 2 courses per term so 50% of your time should be devoted to research. At a teaching university, teaching loads are typical 7 or 8 courses per year so not much research is expected.
Thanks, BP. I didn’t want to wake my husband to ask him. LOL! “Hey....honey....do you.....?” ;-) He’s from the UK...so things are slightly different over there, but quite similar to our system....depending on a ‘uni’ or a ‘tertiary’ level. They also have ‘A-levels’ and ‘O-levels’ thrown in the mix..so it’s a bit confusing to say the least.
Damn. Davis is the mother of the student that was interviewed around 5pm... sounded hopeful, but couldn’t reach her mother on her cellphone.
Harvard educated . . . didn’t like the lowly UAH rednecks denying her tenure . . . Harvard ego may have gotten in the way of other folks right to life . . . funny how that works??
Me too! I was tired of seeing toadies and incompetents snap up the loot while decent scholars and teachers got the shaft. Don't get me started about the lesbian circle in the Education Dept.
LOL. My History department shared offices with the “Women’s Studies” department. And I know exactly what you mean, if your work wasn’t PC enough the usual suspects claimed your work wasn’t good enough.
My last day, I wore my NRA shirt just to make a statement.
I think she will eventually have to study “electrical engineering”, if you get my drift/s;)
While Alabama does have the death penalty,,, I doubt it will ever get her as she can always claim PMS coupled with temporary insanity and probable taking Xanax or similar.
She will also become Zero's spokesperson for gun control saying it really was not her fault because if guns were banned, yada, yada,, oh,, and she is really sorry.
I see her pushing a mop for 5 years, online classes (paid for by you) to further degrees, then moved to practice at a mental hospital with weekend furloughs and vacations to Greece.
Frankly, I’d be worried, too. A friend of mine was working at a college in New York years ago when a disgruntled graduate student stabbed his disertation advisor to death and attacked several other people. I think a lot of people don’t realize how much of a pressure cooker the academy is. It’s an environment in which conflicts that might not seem that important on the surface become real crises in the minds of the people involved.
Close to home for us too. Our son works on this campus, not far from the building involved.
You may be right...
Bishop, 42, was taken Friday night in handcuffs from a police precinct to the county jail and could be heard telling TV reporters, “It didn’t happen. There’s no way .... they are still alive.”
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2010/02/amy_bishop_biology_professor_a.html
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