UNI Professor Named in Grievance 'Receiving Hate Mail, Threats to Herself and Her Family'

A University of Northern Iowa professor is receiving hate mail and threats, UNI's faculty union said, after she was named in a grievance filed by a student who said he wasn't allowed to retake an exam he missed for National Guard training.

The grievance, filed by Iowa National Guardsman and UNI freshman James Roethler, has raised tensions on campus.

UNI psychology professor Cathy DeSoto, named in the grievance, "is receiving hate mail and threats to herself and her family," said a statement from the union, United Faculty. The full statement has been attached to this article as a PDF.

UNI President Ben Allen criticized DeSoto in a press release after the Associated Press wrote about the grievance.

"As university president and a veteran, I strongly disagree with the decision made by the professor in this case," Allen said. "We have been working with the student involved from the beginning, and continue to work with him to help ensure he won't be penalized for serving his country."

Now, United Faculty has criticized Allen's response. The group released a statement Friday saying Allen did not speak with DeSoto before releasing a statement to the media and "took no account of the fact that the student's grade was not negatively impacted."

"Recently, University of Northern Iowa President Benjamin Allen chose to take sides in a student grievance case before the university’s established policy had been followed," the statement said. "While United Faculty will not make the same error as President Allen, we are concerned that his statement has made this situation worse."

“This is not an issue for the newspapers and media to resolve. The Academic Appeals Board exists precisely to deal with such situations," United Faculty President Dan Power said in the statement. "This process has started and it should be respected. If the policy on class attendance recently approved by the President needs amendment, the Faculty Senate can recommend needed changes. But it is inappropriate for President Allen to ignore the due process procedures designed to protect both students and faculty.”

"The university has and will continue to follow the policy and procedures outlined to resolve this matter in a timely manner," University Relations spokeswoman Stacey Christensen said in response.

The grievance, filed by Iowa National Guardsman and UNI freshman James Roethler, said he missed a test because he had to attend a four-day Guard drill. He said he and another student were told they would not be able to make up the exam. Students in the class are allowed to drop their lowest test score, and he said he was told this would have to be the dropped score.

On Wednesday, DeSoto said said she can only provide a limited explanation of the situation because of student privacy laws, but she pointed to a line of military veterans in her family and said she is "strongly patriotic."

Read more:

UNI Professor Named in Grievance Filed by National Guardsman 'Strongly Patriotic'

National Guardsman Files Grievance With UNI After Missed Exam