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Tenure protection, which gives professors academic freedom and broad latitude, also shelters misbehavers who don't leave voluntarily.
A current example is William D. Strampel of MSU, who gave up his medical school deanship in December after 15 years and went on indefinite leave for an undisclosed health reason.
In Philadelphia last October, Dean Strampel poses with MSU medical students at an American Osteopathic Foundation conference banquet. (University photo)
So even now, while facing four criminal charges that include criminal sexual conduct and willful neglect of public duty, he gets a hefty paycheck -- more than $31,000 a month -- from the university he joined in 1999 as senior associate dean at the College of Osteopathic Medicine.
The 70-year-old osteopath allegedly allegedly groped two female medical students, sexually harassed others and neglected his duties as Larry Nassar sexually abused hundreds of female gymnasts and other athletes at a campus Sports Medicine Clinic, according to a court filing Tuesday.
Jim Malewitz of Bridge lays out the employment situation:
Strampel is no longer serving in his administrative role at the university, but he will continue to draw a full paycheck while off campus on medical leave through late May, an MSU spokeswoman confirmed to Bridge Magazine.
As a tenured faculty member, Strampel cannot simply be fired, though he can be dismissed for cause following administrative procedures that can take months.
The dismissal wheels began turning Feb. 9, even before this week's state charges and revelations that graphic photos of female students and other lewd images were on his office computer. Interim President John Engler last month directed Provost June Youatt to start dismissal for cause proceedings against the disgraced ex-dean, who earns $412,000 a year.
Strampel needs to go, Engler says, because of his "failure to monitor and enforce clinical practice guidelines" the dean himself adopted after a 2014 sexual harassment investigation of Nassar. In last month's statement, the ex-governor adds:
"William Strampel did not act with the level of professionalism we expect from individuals who hold senior leadership positions, particularly in a position that involves student and patient safety. Further, allegations have arisen that question whether his personal conduct over a long period of time met MSU’s standards."
Engler describes Tuesday's sensational revelations as "disturbing" and says in a statement that the criminal "charges confirm our belief that he has fallen short of what is expected and required from academic leadership. They are not in alignment with this university’s values and they never have been. His failings are unacceptable."
The doctor's continued paychecks disgust Debra Nails, a retired philosophy professor who was on panel that updated MSU’s dismissal policy in 2015.
"The thought that the guy's getting paid makes me sick to my stomach," she tells Bridge. "But we can't always follow our emotions. We have to follow our policies. . . In every way it was possible for us, we changed the policy to keep people from spinning this out."
Still, steps to revoke the ex-dean's tenure and, separately, to fire him can take six months to a year, MSU spokeswoman Emily Guerrant tells the magazine. Dismissing a tenured faculty member for cause involves faculty meetings, reports and hearings by a review panel.
