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Bruce Harreld, the controversial new president of the University of Iowa, is now denying that he ever said professors who are not prepared for class "should be shot," The Gazette reported. On Tuesday, news spread that a librarian, Lisa Gardinier emailed Harreld to express offense at the comment and that he apologized. On Wednesday, Harreld told the Gazette that what he really said in the meeting was, “I have learned the hard way that if I ever walk into a classroom without a teaching plan, I should be shot,” and he denied even joking about professors being shot. There is no recording of the event, but the librarian noted that when she raised her criticism, the president didn't deny the statement. And she noted that he was clarifying his remarks only after they attracted attention.
“The distinction between ‘I’ and ‘they’ is not the one that matters,” Gardinier said. “It’s the ‘should be shot’ part.”
