A professor in Georgia has been found not guilty of criminal charges, stemming from an injury to a student's finger when the teacher closed the student's laptop in class. However, subsequent to the verdict, university officials told the instructor he would lose his job after the current academic year.
Frank J. Rybicki, assistant professor of mass media at Valdosta State University, was acquitted of battery charges when a jury determined that he didn't intend to harm the student—an important threshold in a criminal case. Dr. Rybicki didn't recall any injury. The professor had a policy of prohibiting the use of computers in class except for the purpose of taking notes, a common sanction used by educators. Here's the whole story in Inside Higher Ed., by Scott Jaschik.
A key passage:
In an interview Tuesday, he said that when he became aware that the student was using her laptop for non-course-related work, he "went to put the laptop down, she tried to pull it away from me, and she claimed that her finger got stuck." Rybicki said that he "didn't see the finger get stuck," and doesn't remember that. But he said that the point that most helped him at trial was that nobody was able to offer evidence that he intended to hurt his student's finger. (Rybicki has never named the student, and a woman with the name cited in some Web commentary as the student in the case has not responded to questions about the incident.)
Rybicki said he thought the real issue in the case was the right of a professor to maintain the classroom as a learning environment. He said that he realizes that some students disagree, and tell him things like "I paid for this class so I should do what I want." But Rybicki said that what a student pays for is "for me to teach," and that means setting some standards in the classroom.
"Students need to realize that even if they pay tuition, they are in a class with other students, in a class that is being guided by professionals," he said. "I'm 'old school,' I guess," he said.
The professor's students have established a Facebook page in support of him.
This case raises a number of interesting questions. TCCTA attorney Frank Hill will be among the speakers at the association's Fall Conference for Faculty Leaders, on October 7-8. (Here's more information.) Maybe Mr. Hill could comment on whether a "not guilty" verdict has any controlling authority in employment decisions by institutions. Just a guess: It depends.
Comments