Former UVa employee Dena Bowers has sued the school for wrongful termination, Aaron Kessler reports in today’s Daily Progress. Bowers was fired last November for sending a private e-mail containing an NAACP analysis of the charter’s effect on medical center employees; the e-mail was subsequently forwarded by others to all classified staff at the College of Arts & Sciences. The firing was followed by a rally and much concern that this was a case of UVa trying to squelch staff concerns over the school’s change to a charter status. Neither the school nor Bowers will comment on the case.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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That’s exactly what I think it was, UVa trying to silence a potentially damaging critic. Who better than someone in the H.R. department to understand the potential effects of “Charter Reform” on other UVa employees. They (UVa) weren’t happy about her opinion, or her expression of it, and she gave them just enough excuse for them to show her the door. So they did.
I don’t know very much about the issues or controversy about “Charter Reform” at UVa, but I don’t think that knowlege is needed to spot a political firing.
Generally speaking, every employer knows when you decide you want to terminate someone, all you need to do is go to the I.T. department and have them prepare documentation against the employee you want to fire. Since no one is perfect, and the rule books are usually loosely worded enough to leave them open for interpretation, at some point the employee you want out will give you the rope you need to hang them.