Academic Scandals: The Worst
Ok.
This category is reserved for the most awful cases of misconduct in academia.
Typically that means child pornography, human trafficking, and murder.
The Dean of Integrity
You
would think the dean in charge of the university’s honor system would be above
reproach. No. Don’t trust these folks either. Don’t even trust them to not
behave in the most reprehensible manner possible. That was the case of LSU’s
dean of the student honor system. It seems that a work-study student found child
pornography on an office computer. The student dutifully turned it in to the
dean but then later checked on what the dean had done with it. When his answer
was suspicious, she contacted someone higher up. We’re wondering how the man in
charge of honor code violations could be so disgusting and then so stupid as to
think that what’s on university computers is his personal and protected
property. We’re not sure where he is now, but he was sentenced to 15 years in
prison in 2005. But one major mystery remains. It seems that he had a previous
conviction of this sort, so we’re wondering how LSU missed it. No further
information on this little inconvenient truth is to be found.
Agriculture Scholars and Bestiality:
Not a Good Combination
Another embarrassing story for LSU, when a 25-year veteran professor at the
AgCenter was found to have child and animal pornography on his university
computer. The repulsive collection included videos of people getting way too
friendly with horses, dogs, and other animals. At least we’re relieved to know,
in the scholarly world of agriculture professors, he was a specialist in cotton
and not cows, pigs, and chickens. This disgusting piece of humankind also had
pornography involving human children, including infants. Turns out he was also
in possession of pot in his car, but we’re thinking that was the least of his
problems. He pled guilty and got a five-year sentence.
The Physics of Porn
A
University of Tampa physics professor was arrested in Florida for crimes
committed in Georgia involving videos that had a 9-year old girl in them. He was
apprehended while apparently setting up with a partner to engage in sex acts as
depicted on the video, as suggested by the fact that he was in possession of a
young girl’s underwear. Ugh. This is tough to write. But people need to know.
Read with disgust.
Murder, He Wrote
Fortunately, most college professors don’t commit murder. But don’t
automatically assume it. It seems that a professor at the University of West
Georgia, got into an argument in a restaurant, was asked to leave and then went
into a parking garage and randomly shot and killed a young future student of the
college who was sitting in her car. How utterly sad. You never know when you’re
going to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Wish she’d had a gun to defend
herself.
From the Classroom to the Pen
A
tenured and prize-winning professor of English at Alleghany College was
sentenced to six years in jail for possession and distribution of child
pornography. Although expressing remorse, he blamed his possession of over a
half million such images, which he had well-organized and catalogued, on
addiction and bipolar disorder. His lawyer asked for lenience based on his
illness and that he was a hoarder.
We all do a bit of hoarding, but obviously this was disgusting and excessive by
even the worst hoarder’s standards. Let’s hope TLC doesn’t make a series on how
to organize your collection of this kind of filth.
This is not Engineering
The
chairman of the Merrimac College Department of Civil Engineering was found to be
in possession of child pornography. Once again, a disgusting piece of academic
humankind accessed it on a university computer. We’re wondering how you teach
engineering and don’t know that whatever you do on a university computer can be
found without a search warrant by university officials. Oh well, that’s not the
full story. It seems this fellow was also the director of the school’s summer
residential camp for middle and high schoolers. OMG! We don’t even want to think
about how much he enjoyed that part of the job, though, who knows? Maybe those
kids were too old for him. Ugh!.
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/merrimack-college-professor-arrested-for-child-porn/
Kudos for Dropbox
If
you don’t think Dropbox has the ability to monitor what’s uploaded to its
server, then you’re a total tech klutz. In this case, Dropbox notified
authorities of child pornography. The cops then traced it to an associate
professor and chair of graduate studies in English at the University of Alabama.
We’re not a big fan of Dropbox, but our opinion has risen a bit thanks to this.
Math Notes
A
Hendrix (Arkansas) College professor of Mathematics was arrested for being in
possession of more than 150 images of child pornography. We don’t want to
generalize, but we hope the sex lives of mathematicians (wouldn’t that make a
good academic article title?) is within the law.
https://katv.com/news/local/hendrix-college-professor-arrested-on-porn-charges
It’s Not Always Men
Well, it usually is, but not in this case. The biology instructor at Wallace
Community College in Dothan, Alabama was charge with 30 counts of sexual abuse,
eight counts of sodomy and two counts of traveling to meet with a child for an
unlawful sex act. She ultimately pled guilty to 12 counts.
Getting Happy in Happy Valley
We’re not sure if the folks who live and go to school at Penn State are as happy
as the nickname of their area, but we’re thinking this distinguished Penn State
chemical engineering professor was carrying it way too far. Let’s just say if
you like collies, tree branches, Tootsie Pops, and John Deere tractors you may
not want to read this. Dude, these things are not sex objects. They’re not even
sex toys.
No Internet for you Today!
A
mathematics lecturer at the University of Houston was caught with child
pornography. Among other restrictions, he was banned from the Internet, which is
kind of an unenforceable punishment. I mean, how do you monitor that, what with
friends and public computers? We hope he was imprisoned with ony math books to
read.
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Last updated: May 12, 2024