Add Eddison Community College in Ohio to the list of openly censoring professors by firing them–as deemed necessary by President Yowell

Remember when I wrote about Stillman College and some of the others who are focusing on quelling free speech among their profs by firing them? (title and link occur after this article too)Edison Community College and its President Yowell get the Assshole Business Award of the Week for their firing of Professor Stephen D. Marlowe, an English professor who was possibly fired fro criticizing the president of the university, Yowell.  Yowell is running two for two in squelching dissent as he also fired an adjunct who refused to turn off his video camera during a public meeting:

Like Marlowe, Essinger was an outspoken critic of Yowell’s leadership, especially the mass non-renewal notice sent to a number of employees prior to the finalization of Edison’s budget. Still, though Yowell openly admits that he does not like Essinger’s “attitude,” he cited one specific action in his rationale for not bringing back Essinger, an adjunct in his first year who has earned excellent student evaluations and the respect of his supervisors.

Essinger videotaped a contentious Edison board meeting in April, following the faculty’s no-confidence vote in Yowell, so that the many interested faculty members who could not attend the meeting could see the proceedings and hear Yowell’s and the board’s reactions. At the start of the meeting, he was asked by the board chair to shut off the camera, although there are no statutes in Ohio that block the videotaping of public meetings, and many are routinely videotaped by news organizations and other parties. When Essinger declined to shut off the camera, he thought he was doing his colleagues a service, but it may have been his undoing at Edison.

“Mr. Essinger disrespected the board chair in the process,” said Yowell of Essinger’s refusal to shut off the video camera. “He shouldn’t have done that. His bad behavior is being punished. I told [his supervisors] that I did not what him reappointed for that reason. He expressed a bad attitude, and I’m not going to put up with that. “

Thank goodness all professors now understand the equivalent of a preschool rule will determine their professional fate.  I mean, for a while it seemed like Yowell had a personal vendetta against anyone who disagreed with him.

Firing of faculty: How Mc Nealy got it wrong and Stillman College is in for a fight