Justice 4 Shively
Shively v. UVU, Tuminez, Clemes, Flood
NATURE OF THE ACTION
This is a case about a university’s reckless disregard of its duty to a tenured professor regarding specious and unsubstantiated claims, which disregard manifested in a prolonged campaign against the professor, resulting in his tragic suicide. UVU’s own detailed investigative report, compiled after twenty-five (25) interviews, provides extensive evidence and admissions that discredit claims of a “serious offense affecting the public interest.” However, UVU chose to expand and prolong the investigation by hiring an outside consultant whose work Shively had openly and professionally criticized in presentations, even though UVU knew that Shively was suffering as a result of the prolonged investigation. UVU excluded favorable testimony and evidence then failed to provide Shively with any prior notice or opportunity to change his proven teaching methods that UVU had encouraged and awarded for twenty-seven (27) years.
Professor Shively was deserving of UVU’s praise and promise of continued employment, not its unwarranted discipline. After being appointed the Human Anatomy Program Coordinator in 1993, Shively’s teaching excellence was repeatedly recognized by UVU, including five (5) Teacher of the Year awards and nine (9) other Teaching Excellence Awards. Shively served as Department Chair in UVU’s Department of Life Sciences, President of the UVU Faculty Senate, and Faculty Athletic Representative. Notably, Shively was honored as an exemplary lecturer and professor by the “Experts in the Classroom Series,” which caused UVU to print and distribute the tributary flyer below to promote viewership of Shively on public television.
A full accounting of the complaint filed is linked below, or available for download.