After Tenure Fight, Reprimand Urged for Ohio Prof

An Ohio University journalism professor, who was nearly denied tenure over harassment allegations, should be reprimanded for his behavior, a faculty committee has recommended. Bill Reader was granted tenure by Ohio’s president over the objections of his department director and dean, but the charges that imperiled Reader’s tenure case were separately evaluated by his college’s Professional Ethics Committee. Evidence suggests Reader engaged in nonviolent threats of retaliation following a tenure vote that narrowly ended in his favor, the full committee found. Of the committee’s six members, five also agreed Reader engaged in acts of intimidation and verbal harassment of his colleagues. Reprimands are reserved for “moderately serious” offenses, and are less severe than censure or disciplinary action, according to the university’s faculty handbook. In an e-mail to Inside Higher Ed Thursday, Reader said "I maintain my innocence and will appeal if necessary.”