Is he tenured? If he has been there more than seven years, he likely is, and will tough to get rid of.

Tenure means nothing if you live in a at-will employment state and the faculty isn't unionized. Tenured professors are zapped all the time without cause if they don't have a union to back them up. Academic politics are usually conducted at a slightly lower ethical level than internal power struggles in the NSDAP.

Case in point.

Mills is still barred from campus and is on his second level of appeals. It is expected that the internal appeals will go against him and then the battle will move off campus to the governor's office. That may bring about a reversal or simply exhaust the administrative process and then it will be back to the courts. Secret charges, false witnesses, suborned testimony, coverups, ad nauseum.

More horror tales (and help) here.

He's not tenured. In fact, I think he's a grad student and just teaches part-time. Word on the street is that there are pedagogical differences between his teaching and the department.

I just really hope that they can work something out...I have no desire to have The Other Spanish Teacher.

When pruning the academic tree, it's very important to leave the dead wood in place.

Academia is all politics. Sad but true. I lost my advisor -- a really talented teacher and engaged professional -- to a political dispute. It's a complicated environment, and there's really no knowing what goes on behind the scenes in the arcane world of higher ed.

OK, very true that tenure is a weak reed to lean on in most academic environments, including my own. And if the guy is a grad student/adjunct--well, he's fucked. The "good" news is that the part time position he is about to lose pays horribly and lacks any benefits.

You - The one with the impertinent questions.. What was your name? (No matter, I'm sure the TA knows you..) Please sit down, be quiet, and make sure your next tuition check will clear. Do not question our methods, for if you do, we will brand you a failure and cast you from the tower, whereupon you will spend the rest of your life flipping burgers.

Now: On to today's topic: Critical thinking skills in political discourse: The Death of Jean-Paul Marat...