The University of Alabama at Huntsville has suspended Amy Bishop, the biologist accused of killing three colleagues and wounding three other people, and is taking steps to fire her, The Huntsville Times reported. It quoted a brief statement by Ray Garner, a university spokesman, as saying: “Dr. Amy Bishop was suspended without pay effective February 12, 2010. The university is moving forward with the process of terminating her employment.”
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10 Responses to Huntsville Campus Suspends Amy Bishop Retroactively and Plans to Fire Her
chrisr - February 26, 2010 at 8:31 am
It was interesting to see the media inertia claiming amy Bishop was brilliant, because of a single invention (which is not clear how much of the inventivenss was hers and how much was her husbands) and her personal claims of a high IQ. However, gauging from her paltry publication record the refereed journals did not seemd that impressed or as one professor remarked her work was about equivalent to that of a high school science fair. It appears that she was probably an affirmative action hire. Contriving institutional guilt or self-flagellation because she was a woman seems quite misdirected. Seeds were sown in failing to do a thorough background check and probably succumbing to a forced quota hire.
palm428 - February 26, 2010 at 10:02 am
Taking steps to fire her? How long does it take after killing 3 professors. They did not get any due process. This is silly!!!
cwinton - February 26, 2010 at 10:09 am
Give me a break. It’s far more likely she was hired because of her Harvard pedigree. If she was so mediocre in the first place then why did Harvard award her a Ph.D.? The fact she constantly seemed to need to tout her pedigree and proclaim her IQ evidences sad attempts to counter mounting evidence that she simply wasn’t getting it done. It’s only 20-20 hindsight that points to the trail leading to this tragedy.
greeneyeshade - February 26, 2010 at 12:53 pm
I’d imagine the formality of firing Bishop has more to do with a denial of posthumous benefits than some symbolic gesture. If that’s so, I wonder if it’s fair to penalize her heirs. Those things aren’t supposed to be decided on the quality of service given.
chrisr - February 26, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Amy’s poor publication record speaks for itself. She just wasn’t that smart. As one of her colleagues said her work was equivalent to that of a high school science fair. It is amazing they let her hang around as long as they did. Harvard Ph.D.s- some are impressive; some are not.
justme2010 - February 26, 2010 at 2:09 pm
“…is taking steps to fire her.”Juuuuust a little bit late, UA.
drhypersonic - February 26, 2010 at 4:45 pm
So UA-Huntsville “is taking steps to fire her?” THAT will show her a thing or two about gunning down her colleagues! Too bad it wasn’t about, umm, six months ago.
mmcknight - February 26, 2010 at 5:27 pm
greeneyeshade, she’s still alive, remember? Last I checked, anyway. So this is probably so that they can stop the benefits and salary that she’d presumably still be getting otherwise.
nebo113 - February 26, 2010 at 7:00 pm
While you all seem to be reveling in her firing, remember that she has children, who may lose their insurance when her benefits cease. They’re victims also.
trumajc - February 27, 2010 at 1:37 pm
I congratulate chrisr’s politicization of the Huntsville killings, based on the audacious claim that hiring a Harvard PhD “was probably an affirmative action hire…” Zing!! I mean, no-one hires Harvard grads–it must have been ’cause she’s a woman. There’s no other way this could be interpreted, really…Bravo!!!