Peter Quint to file lawsuit

7/15/2011: From Patrick Manning at FoxNews:

A deaf, sign language professor is planning to sue to get his job back at the University of Oregon after he was fired for a sarcastic comment he made about shooting a student in the head for speaking out in class. …

Dean Bullis has also received complaints about professors threatening “a pop quiz on today’s bullet points.”

FIRE investigates firing of ASL instructor Peter Quint

7/11/2011 Update: These two Daily Emerald stories, and especially the comments, are worth reading. Two sides to every story. Everyone agrees Dean Bullis botched it though.

7/8/2011: From Lyzi Diamond in the Oregon Commentator:

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has launched an investigation into the termination of University of Oregon American Sign Language professor Peter Quint after he made what was perceived to be an off-color comment to a student in his ASL 203 class. A letter was sent from FIRE to University President Richard Lariviere on June 27 insisting that Quint be reinstated for the 2011-12 academic year. … 
“The rights of UO faculty are very fragile indeed if the university believes it can dismiss its instructors for their classroom comments without even presenting any formal charges against them, much less allowing them the opportunity to address and rebut such charges.”

More on the FIRE page, here. It will be interesting to see if the AAUP/AAU faculty union people pick up on this as an issue for their fall recruiting push.