AAUP Objects to the Squashing of a South Dakota State U. Bug Expert

The American Association of University Professors has urged South Dakota State University to reverse its decision to fire an entomologist, arguing that the institution failed to follow appropriate dismissal procedures. Michael Catangui, a tenured professor in the university’s department of plant science and an Extension Service entomologist, said in an interview Tuesday that he has been fired and locked out of his office without any formal dismissal procedure. A university spokesman declined to comment on the dispute, saying it was a confidential personnel matter. In a letter sent to university officials this month, Gregory F. Scholtz, director of the AAUP’s Department of Academic Freedom, Tenure, and Governance, said Mr. Catangui should have been afforded a hearing in front of a faculty committee before being dismissed for what his department’s head characterized as “serious performance deficiencies” and insubordination. Benjamin H. Kantack, a retired Extension Service entomologist who had been in regular contact with Mr. Catangui, said he believes Mr. Catangui was dismissed partly as a result of a disagreement with his supervisors over when farmers should be told to spray soybeans for aphids.