July 14, 2008

U. of Alabama at Birmingham Editor Says He Was Fired Over His Political Blog

A longtime editor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham has been fired because, he says, he used his personal blog to harshly attack high-ranking Republicans in the state. A detailed account of the case appeared last week on an alternative-news blog, The Raw Story.

The editor, Roger Shuler, worked at the university for 19 years, including the last 12 as an editor in the publications office. He was fired in May after placing a written request for vacation time on his boss’s chair instead of handing it directly to her, he says. After the boss reprimanded him for that act, and Mr. Shuler complained about the reprimand, he says, the university investigated his use of his university computer and contended he was spending three hours a day on research for his blog. And for that, the university fired him.

But Mr. Shuler denies he was using university time to conduct research or to write material for his blog, Legal Schnauzer, and says that as an editor at the university he must keep up with news in the state. He believes the reprimand for his vacation request and the investigation of his computer use were attempts to punish him for using his blog to criticize the Republican U.S. attorneys in the state.

In particular, Mr. Shuler’s blog has defended Don Siegelman, the former Democratic governor who has been prosecuted by one of the U.S. attorneys with close ties to the White House. On his blog, Mr. Shuler has questioned whether another Republican U.S. attorney in Alabama is “corrupt and racist.”

The university told The Raw Story that Mr. Shuler had not been fired for blogging, but it would not comment further. In June an appeals committee at the university voted to overturn Mr. Shuler’s dismissal. But he says the university recently told him that, while he could be rehired, he would not get his former job back. —Robin Wilson

Comments

1. > He was fired in May after placing a written request for vacation time on his boss’s chair instead of handing it directly to her, he says.

   Huh?

   — me    Jul 14, 11:49 AM    #

2. Are you sure about that. I see nothing about him using university facilities. Of course we see many times where universities are slack on all these things until they want to get rid of someone then all of a sudden it is a huge problem.

   — john    Jul 14, 12:20 PM    #

3. No, Susan. If the facts as presented by the person who fired him are correct, then it showed that he read the news online during the day—which would mean 95% of academia would be fired. Considering that the appeals committee overturned his firing, it sounds like the facts were actually on his side.

   — Ted    Jul 14, 03:31 PM    #

4. There was an article recently in the Chronicle written by some “authority” on use of university computers. Lots of warnings and hoo-ha but nowhere did the author there (or here) get to the fundamental issue. Every large organization with computers has a document called “The Terms of Use.” At most great universities the terms of use are extremely liberal and utterly different from those in the corporate world (the author of the Chronicle article did not mention any of this so I doubt he was really much of an authority). At my university faculty can do anything short of illegal activity, activity to generate private income, or activity that violates other university codes (e.g., keeping pornographic images visible on your machine for all to see). It is all left up to the individual to ask himself whether he is using his or her time well. Period. There may be different rules for staff since they are paid per hour of work (wage versus salary) but any discussion of improper computer use must begin with a discussion of the terms of use. Period.

   — Sam    Jul 14, 03:40 PM    #

5. It mentioned that he worked for the newspaper and needed to do research of the news for the paper. The issue of the vacation request shows that there is a serious problem there.

   — K S    Jul 14, 03:44 PM    #

6. Trust me: University employees — even administrators — do not enjoy the freedom and protections that faculty normally do. This guy was a sitting duck. He probably “served at the pleasure” yadda yadda. There but for the grace of the tenure system go any number of outspoken professors!

   — Elizabeth    Jul 14, 03:55 PM    #

7. Overturned on appeal in an “at will” state. Indicates there may be some truth to his claims. Alabama is a mess politically.

   — Kyle David    Jul 14, 04:03 PM    #

8. It isn’t an issue of tenure, there are all kinds of reprimands that can be given to tenured faculty for all kinds of infractions. For example, you can do what you want with the computers in your office, but woe to the professor who lights a cigarette in the same office, even with the door closed!!

   — Sam    Jul 14, 04:11 PM    #

9. Any time there was a firing over leaving a written request on a chair instead of handing it to someone, you KNOW there is a problem. That’s the kind of thing that only happens at a university when there’s bad blood and more to the story.

   — Al    Jul 14, 04:25 PM    #

10. Uh-oh, am I going to get busted for checking the Chronicle during office hours? I had better go!

    — D    Jul 14, 04:29 PM    #

11. Hello,

    I am a graduate of UAB and am familiar with various complaints from employees about the unprofessional, dictatorial behavior of many managers at the school. The school has lost & will continue to lose many of the best & brightest because of this mentality. Perhaps the actions presented above do not differ significantly from other state Universities; however, the lawsuit brought here is one in many that I am familiar with at the University across several departments. That is what is disturbing.

    — L    Jul 14, 05:37 PM    #

12. Good riddence to a bad liberal! Ever since reporters started calling themselves journalists, they have assumed that we care about their opinions, as opposed to the facts of each issue. But then liberal wackos cannot use the facts because the facts of the pertinent issues are against them.

    Yours
    ARS

    — Allen Stata    Jul 14, 09:03 PM    #

13. I don’t know if Mr. Shuler is a liberal or a conservative nor does it matter, Mr. ARS. If he was fired for criticizing public officials it should give all of us pause. True blue Republicans were fired by the Justice Department for refusing to base prosecutions on politics as directed by White House operatives. If that doesn’t trouble you, I suggest that you re-examine the Bill of Rights. We have entirely too many people who wrap themselves in the mantle of patriotism while approving of blantanly anti-American behavior by elected officials and their cronies who put politics ahead of the interests of American democracy as embodied in the Constitution.

    — CW    Jul 14, 09:20 PM    #

14. If a President cared about his reputation, even the appearance of impropriety would cause him to lay down standards for fund raisers. In another country in which I held a Fulbright appointment, a bribe was required to pick up a package at the post office, or to process papers to take a plane trip, or to pick up boxes of books at the airport. Even a bribe was paid to process my entry papers into the country (and also my wife’s). If Clinton & Bush have permitted their library fund-raisers to swap something of value for a donation, they should be indicted! Although we have had some awesome scandals involving the sale of the public trust at the highest levels in the past, recent trends suggest that this type of corruption is reaching down and across the nation and its university system. Who would have thought that a University would sell its authority to grant degrees? Who would have thought that Student Loan Programs could be “fixed” for kick-backs? Who would have thought that Presidents would “fix” a faculty evaluation to get rid of a troublesome faculty member? Any reader of the Chonicle can add to this list. Sadly, these Presidential Libraries are high-stakes ventures with lots of money and power at risk. I say, indict these folks — if the links reach up to Bill Clinton and George Bush, let the Grand Jury indict them as well.
    Don Freeman

    — Donald M. Freeman    Jul 14, 11:29 PM    #

15. Contrary to Mr. Shuler’s statements, his termination had nothing to do with politics or any conspiracy, and the university has not been contacted by any public official or representative of such about this matter. Mr. Shuler was dismissed based solely on his work performance. Because this is a personnel matter, we cannot comment further.

    — Gary Mans, UAB Director of Public Relations    Jul 15, 01:14 PM    #

16. Mr. Mans,

    I am disappointed in the level of creativity of the UAB administration. You can simply post anonymously and say you obtained the information from a “very good source”.

    Guess we will just have to wait for the lawsuit to bring things to the public. Sigh.

    — me    Jul 15, 03:39 PM    #

Previous: Psychiatrists Discuss How to Respond to Scrutiny Over Financial Conflicts
Next: Graduates of Chinese Universities Take the Lead in Earning American Ph.D.'s