The molecular biologist at the University of California at Irvine who refused to attend a training session on preventing sexual harassment, calling it a sham and a violation of academic freedom, has relented and taken the course, The Orange County Register reported on its “ScienceDude” blog.
The professor, Alexander McPherson, had been threatened with being put on unpaid leave for refusing to complete the two-hour course, mandated by a 2004 state law. He had objected to the training for numerous reasons, which he outlined in a commentary he wrote for the Los Angeles Times. Professors elsewhere also have questioned the value of such training, particularly Web-based programs.
Mr. McPherson took his protest as far as resigning from Irvine and accepting a research job in Buffalo, the Register reported, but withdrew the resignation because because it would have affected the jobs of two scientists on his staff. —Charles Huckabee
