Professor Returns After Last Year's Controversy
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PAGE 8B ‘REALITIES ON CAMPUS’ SHARES TRUTHS The Murray State News August 19, 2011 thenews.org Vol. 87, No. 2 Professor returns after last year’s controversy Elizabeth Johnson complaint filed with the Office of The email sent approval of the Board of Regents, part-time faculty, Wattier does not Editor-in-Chief Equal Opportunity by a black student by Wattier to which will hold a due process hear- have an office on campus and subse- who took Wattier’s fall POL 140 class. other faculty ing on the matter.” quently will not have office hours. A professor has agreed to a one- According to the case documents, members includ- Wattier’s suspension was never While she could not comment on year contract with Murray State after Arlene Johnson and another black ed a 26-page PDF brought up to the Board. most of the situation, Higginson said retiring in March when he was sus- student approached Wattier after attachment shar- However, President Randy Dunn Wattier is experienced in web-only pended without pay for allegedly class on Aug. 25 to ask why he had ing his “side of told The Murray State News via instruction. making a racist comment to a stu- started a movie before class was the story.” In the email last spring that the matter did “He had taught online courses dent. scheduled to begin. document he not fall under the policy because it prior to his retirement and had been Mark Wattier is contracted to teach According to the documents, Wat- states that on was an equal opportunity grievance. successful in teaching those courses,” four online courses this year, said tier responded with, “I expect it out Mark Wattier Aug. 18, 2010, he The matter did, however, move Higginson said. Bonnie Higginson, provost of the of you guys anyway.” Wattier alleged- Professor of addressed three from Equal Opportunity to the Office Last spring, The Paducah Sun quot- University. She said he will teach one ly went on to say, “It is part of your political science students, whom of the President where a resolution ed Wattier saying, “I won’t work there class this semester, one during the heritage. The slaves never showed up he could not iden- was made. ever again. Any place that would do winter term and two during the on time to their owners and were tify, who were late to class saying, “The resolution of that issue, this to a person does not deserve that spring semester. lashed for it. I just don’t have the “Do you know why you were late? which of course many people in the person’s labor ever again.” Wattier is teaching POL 140 Amer- right to do that.” There’s a theory that a way to campus community followed, is a Dunn said he is not worried about ican National Government and, Johnson dropped the class and protests their master’s treatment was personnel issue I really can’t discuss the negative comments Wattier pre- according to myGate, has almost quickly filed the complaint. for slaves to be late.” Wattier said he or divulge in terms of comments, but viously made about the University. reached the capacity of 40 students. Wattier was suspended without regretted saying the comment out of I can tell you we’ve contracted with “If we didn’t feel that he could do a The tenured professor had worked pay or benefits during the spring context, but that his tone was “playful him as we do with many retired pro- credible job in teaching these cours- for more than 30 years at Murray semester. or teasing” and his volume was “soft fessors to teach on a part-time basis es, we wouldn’t have brought him State and once served as Faculty Sen- He appealed the decision, citing and personal.” for us,” Dunn said. “We’ll look for- back on a retirement contract for the ate president, before his March depression among other factors. He In his appeal, Wattier also cited a ward to having a strong enrollment in next year,” Dunn said. “I’ll expect the retirement, which he called “early” said his theory-based comment, section from the Faculty Handbook those classes and moving beyond same strong level of performance we and “forced” in an email he sent to referring to the magazine article which states, “Should a suspension of some of the issues we dealt with ear- want from all of our faculty.” several faculty members in July. titled, “Why Are Most Blacks Always longer than 30 days be deemed nec- lier.” Contact Johnson at elizabetha. The retirement resulted from a Late?,” was taken out of context. essary, the President must receive Higginson said, like most retired [email protected]. Beshear appoints new Regent to Board Edward Marlowe Staff writer It was just a normal work day at Beshear Funeral Home for Jenny Sewell. The phone rang, and the Governor of Kentucky, Steve Beshear, was on the other end. “He called and asked if I would do it - be on the Board of Regents,” Sewell said. “I didn’t anticipate it at all. I just let him talk and I heard him out.” On July 29, Beshear appointed Sewell of Dawson Springs, Ky., to the Murray State Board of Regents. Sewell said that Beshear thought she was a good fit, having been from the Western Kentucky area with more than enough experience to take a seat on the Board. Sewell replaces Bill Adams, whose term on the Board expired this past summer. Through his term of service, Adams eventually became Vice Chair of the Board of Regents and remained active in Board affairs, nominating many chairpersons to positions currently held. “(Beshear) has continued interest in the growing college and wanted to select someone from the region who understood,” Sewell said. Sewell finished with her undergraduate and master’s degrees in education from Murray State. She spent 23 years on the Daw- son Springs School Board, taught music and was director of Kylie Townsend/The News choir. Sewell also sold real estate and insurance for 15 years and MOVE IN: A student pulls a rolling suitcase through a parking lot while moving into a residential college last weekend, 8B. is currently the owner and president of Beshear Funeral Home in Dawson Springs. Sewell currently serves on the Pennyrile Area Development District and is the former chair of the Dawson Springs Main Street Board of Directors. Publications rank University among best Sewell said she was honored by the selection. “This is my alma mater,” Sewell said. “Of course I will do what Austin Ramsey said. “It puts Murray in a very unique situation.” I can to help out furthering education in our area.” News Editor He said faculty members on campus often develop a sense of As the governor’s first cousin, however, critics could poten- unity with their peers, giving students the opportunity to learn in tially point to nepotism on the selection of Sewell. The University was recently recognized by two third-party rat- a more positive environment. “It was brought up in conversation, yes, and you will always ing publications for providing outstanding service to its faculty. Earlier this month Murray State also received recognition in a have those people,” Sewell said. “This is not a paid position at all. The first publication, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Forbes online annual special “America’s Top Colleges” list. He felt that I was qualified, I’m from the region, and he knew released a report of data collected from surveys at 310 universi- Murray State was named on the “Top Colleges” listing and as how well I would perform due to past experience.” ties nationwide, with 44,000 employees taking part. one of “America’s Top 100 Best College Buys.” Responsibilities include attending four meetings a year, sitting Murray State was pointed out under the heading “Great Col- Only the University of Kentucky ranked higher than Murray on multiple committees, discussing important University issues leges to Work For” for the second time since the officials began State on the list of state public schools. and ensuring fair enforcement of University policy when situa- participating in the survey last year. Centre College received the highest ranking of all Kentucky tions arise. The report gave the University specific recognition for its pro- institutions of higher education, appearing in the top 50 schools University President Randy Dunn said he thinks the selection fessional and career development programs as well as confidence in the nation. of Sewell will have a positive impact on the Board. in its senior leadership. Under the “Best Buy” ranking, the University represented the “I see that as a wonderful opportunity to have someone who is Murray State and Eastern Kentucky universities were the only state alone. so close to the governor’s ear being aware of what we do, the two public state universities that received recognition. According to Forbes.com, the “Best Buy” ranking is determined excellence we’ve achieved, the needs that we have for the future According to information posted on The Chronicle’s website, by factoring in the price of the universities against their perform- and given that I think her relationship with the governor is a the participating schools were assessed using institutional audits ance in educating and graduating students. valuable asset,” he said. on demographics and policies as well as faculty-wide surveys. Carter said the University’s position on the “Best Buy” list is Dunn added that he thinks other Board members will find Catherine Sivills, assistant vice president for communications important considering the federal financial crisis.