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BREAKING: Fired Mount St. Mary鈥檚 University Professors Reinstated
Mount St. Mary鈥檚 University (MSMU) President Simon Newman meeting this afternoon that professors Ed Egan and Thane Naberhaus have been reinstated, FIREhas independently confirmed.
FIRE sent a letter demanding the professors鈥 reinstatement to President Newman yesterday.
On Monday, Newman of firing Naberhaus, a tenured professor, and Egan, the faculty advisor to the student newspaper, following their criticism of Newman鈥檚 plan to oust low-performing freshmen. The plan became national news last month after that Newman told a concerned faculty member, 鈥淭his is hard for you because you think of the students as cuddly bunnies, but you can鈥檛. You just have to drown the bunnies 鈥 put a Glock to their heads.鈥
The reinstatement announcement was made during a meeting where to discuss a no-confidence vote regarding Newman鈥檚 presidency in the wake of the scandal that has rocked the small, Maryland campus.
Although Newman鈥檚 reversal is a welcome development, MSMU鈥檚 acts have caused lasting damage to the community鈥檚 confidence in MSMU to uphold its policies and protect student and faculty speech in the future. Inside Higher Ed :
Whether the tensions will be resolved remains unclear. Inside Higher Ed reached Thane Naberhaus, one of the faculty members who was fired this week, despite having tenure, and asked him if he was planning to return. His email response: "Hell no."
Naberhaus told FIREyesterday he would not return to MSMU if Newman remained president.
FIRE will have more on this story as it develops and will continue to monitor developments to ensure that MSMU remains committed to its promises of free speech and due process.
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