professor news stories on Newser

Professor Leaves Class, Kills Himself

Sarah Whitmire — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 13:03:05 CDT

Rough story from a Philadelphia college: A math professor walked out of his class and dove headfirst over a second-floor balcony to his death, falling as far as 30 feet to the marble floor of a hall at Chestnut Hill College, reports the Philadelphia Daily News . "He had a history...

Arizona Prof's Research: Getting Students Drunk

Matt Cantor — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 09:17:05 CDT

An Arizona State professor wants his students to get smashed—and he’s willing to pay them to do it. That’s because William Corbin is researching the effects of alcohol on behavior, and ASU students are his subjects. Several nights a week, he converts his lab into a bar, complete with...

Professors Accused of Running Prostitution Ring

Rob Quinn — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 03:07:40 CDT

Academia apparently wasn't spicy enough for a pair of university professors accused of running an online prostitution ring. F. Chris Garcia, a political science professor and former president of the University of New Mexico, and David Flory, a physics professor at New Jersey's Fairleigh Dickinson University, have been arrested for...

University Prez Survives 4 Days Lost in Swamp

Rob Quinn — Fri, 27 May 2011 03:00:00 CDT

A distinguished Colombian academic "became Rambo" to survive 4 days lost in Louisiana swamps, his sister-in-law says. Francisco Piedrahita, 65, a university president and renowned humanitarian, became lost during what was supposed to be a brief birdwatching jaunt in the vast Jean Lafitte National Park. Piedrahita, who had nothing to...

Prof Arrested for Closing Student's Laptop

Rob Quinn — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 05:34:37 CDT

A professor who got fed up with a student surfing the Internet instead of taking notes has been arrested and suspended for closing her laptop. Frank Rybicki, a professor of mass media at Valdosta State University, was arrested for battery after the student complained that her finger had been hurt...

Wisconsin GOP Seeks Emails of Critical Professor

John Johnson — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 18:31:40 CDT

Wisconsin's labor fight isn't simmering down. In the latest controversy, the state GOP has demanded the personal emails of a renowned University of Wisconsin history professor who's been critical of Gov. Scott Walker's anti-union moves, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . The professor is William Cronon, who first entered the fray...

NYU Professor Has to Pull 'Head Cam' After Surgery

John Johnson — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 13:21:05 CST

The price of performance art: A professor at NYU has pulled out the camera implanted in the back of his head because his body rejected it, reports the Chronicle of Higher Education . The contraption—designed to snap a photo every minute for this website —also caused Iraqi-born Wafaa Bilial constant...

College Professor: Swearing Cost Me My Job

John Johnson — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:49:27 CST

A small fight over academic freedom and blue language in Hawaii: A college philosophy professor who used phrases like "shit happens" for discussion in class has resigned after a student complained to her father, who in turn complained to school administrators at Hawaii Community College, who then urged the professor...

Columbia Professor Charged With Incest

Rob Quinn — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 03:22:06 CST

A well-known Columbia University professor has been charged with having an incestuous relationship with his daughter. Court papers allege that political science professor David Epstein had an apparently consensual 3-year relationship with the woman, who was over 18 when it began, the Columbia Spectator reports. Epstein, who's married to a...