THE DAVID R. KELLER CHAPTER OF THE AAUP / AFT AT UVU

Members of the UVU faculty, like faculty members across the nation, have faced troubling and interminable Title IX investigations. Isn't there a better way to go about this? Here's an especially interesting story, an essay that will be in the Sunday Magazine of the NYT and is available today in the on-line edition: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/magazine/title-ix-sexual-harassment-accusations.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage A couple of excerpts: In academia, the  phrase “Title IX investigation” is so common that we sometimes forget that many people have never heard the term. When I called my dad after Marta hung up with the associate dean and left to go teach, he asked me — once I stopped crying — what a Title IX investigation even was. What it usually means, I said, is an investigation of sexual misconduct. We hear about them most often in cases of sexual assault — usually of a female student by a male student, usually in relation ...

The following statement, prepared by a subcommittee of the Association’s Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure, was approved by Committee A in October 2019  and adopted by the AAUP's Council in November 2019 . “Knowledge,” as Francis Bacon observed in 1597 at the dawn of the modern era, “is power.” Without knowledge no nation can govern its economy, manage its environment, sustain its public health, produce goods or services, understand its own history, or enable its citizens to understand the circumstances in which they live. Knowledge is produced by the hard work of disciplined, well-trained investigators. Industry and government must hire doctors, chemists, lawyers, architects, teachers, journalists, economists, and engineers. Colleges and universities are the only institutions qualified to provide this expert training. It is therefore most unfortunate that at this moment of intense global instability, there is an ongoing movement to attack the disciplines and ins...

The Shively family has published the following timeline, based on their attorney's reading of the UVU report of the investigation: If the attorney is correct with the timeline, on May 2nd the complaint of  threat to the public interest   was determined to be unsubstantiated. On that date the suspension should have been lifted.  On May 8, Mike's department chair told UVU that he was worried about Mike's health after visiting him. UVU took no action, although the ongoing suspension was a clear threat to Mike's physical and mental health.  Instead, on May 28th they hired an Idaho anatomist to comment on Mike's textbook, prolonging the suspension and the investigation. The investigation had not yet reached a conclusion by the 19th of August, when Mike passed away. We urge the Faculty Senate to investigate this investigation. Responsible parties should be censured in some fashion. The fact that the university's General Counsel has resigned (ef...

Saturday, November 9, 2019  UVU Statement Regarding Dr. Michael J. Shively Investigation Annotated Dr. Michael J. Shively was a full-time professor of biology in the College of Science at Utah Valley University (UVU). His death was a very sad event, and the University has reached out to his family with its sincere condolences.  A UVU professor released an open letter about UVU’s investigation of Dr. Shively and allegations made against him. Additionally, a statement for the UVU Chapter of the American Association of University Professors has been posted on their Chapter’s  blog . Over the past year, University leaders received numerous serious complaints about Dr. Shively from students, faculty, and others.  The letter Mike Shively received on March 25, 2019, the day he was suspended, said that “We have received several complaints that you have engaged in the following misconduct. . . .” The UVU statement inflates “several complaints” to...

Mike Shively training on the San Marcos River for the 2019 Texas Water Safari (courtesy of the Shively family) Our colleague, Professor Michael Shively, passed away on the evening of August 19, 2019. Mike joined the UVU faculty in 1992 with advanced degrees in anatomy and veterinary science. He served as President of the Faculty Senate and as Department Chair. He was the Faculty Athletic Representative, a role he relished as he played his trumpet at many athletic events. Over the course of his teaching career he taught thousands of students in his anatomy and physiology classes and was honored with numerous teaching awards. Students found his demanding classes key components for admission into medical, dental, and nursing schools.  Although “Rate My Professors” is an imperfect source, it is informative to see what students posted there about Mike’s anatomy class. Five recent, representative examples:  AWSOME, 5 out of 5 rating Anatomy is the hardest class you ...