JACKSON, Miss.
Two Mississippi Valley State University professors have been fired, and at least one of them claims it was in retaliation for serving on a panel that was critical of university president Lester Newman.
Debbie Montgomery, a university spokeswoman, says, however, that the teachers’ departure had nothing to do with serving on the panel.
“The two professors who served on the committee had one-year contracts. The individuals did not fulfill the requirements of their respective contracts which called for the completion of their terminal degrees by the conclusion of the 06-07 academic year,” she says.
Vickie Curry and Orian Cathey were both terminated, says former faculty senate president Sam McNair, who also was on the committee that issued a report in April that said the university faced a leadership crisis.
“I might be one to go,” McNair said Monday in an article on www.clarionledger.com, adding that he expects others on the MVSU faculty and staff to be terminated by Newman.
