2 ex-colleagues praise fired prof

Former Southern Utah University professor Stephen C. Roberds was "tough to be around" and "prickly," but that's not reason enough to fire him, two former SUU professors say.

In fact, both had high praise for Roberds, named by students the 2003-2004 "Professor of the Year." He was also a candidate for tenure at SUU.

Roberds was fired last week following his use of the F-word in class, for other "incidents" and based on his performance over six years, according to SUU officials. He will be paid for next semester but will not teach.

Now Roberds' case is on the radar screen of the Washington-based faculty advocate American Association of University Professors, which is concerned there has not been due process.

While Roberds was fired, colleagues Dennis Waskul and Dan Pence voluntarily left SUU because of a "dominant culture" that they say affected the way they conducted themselves inside and out of the classroom.

"I couldn't take it any more," said Pence, who quit in 2000 after eight years at SUU.

That culture is one made up of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who are in positions of power and influence in the LDS Church and on the SUU campus, according to Waskul and Pence.

"How can you go from Professor of the Year to being denied tenure?" asked Waskul, a sociology professor who left Utah after teaching less than two years at SUU. Waskul now teaches at Minnesota State University.

"Conservative doesn't quite cover it," Pence said, describing the atmosphere on the SUU campus. "There is sort of an overlay of some level of orthodoxy."

Pence, who teaches at California State University at Chico, remembers "overt" censoring of language on SUU's campus. Pence recalls being reprimanded once for swearing in class.

Roberds' October cussing incident prompted political science department chairman Lamar Jordan to further investigate Roberds' bid for tenure. Jordan then reversed an earlier recommendation for tenure approval.

Rodney D. Decker, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, made the final decision to fire Roberds.

The AAUP has contacted Roberds and is waiting for more details before it takes any action.

"We're concerned over this, I can say that much," said Anita Levy, senior program officer with the AAUP's Department of Academic Freedom and Tenure.

The concern is over whether Roberds had a formal pre-dismissal hearing before being fired.