Tenure, stress and violence

By Matt Rupel

Almost two years ago this week, Dr. Amy Bishop, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Alabama, stepped into a routine faculty meeting with a loaded gun. When she stepped out of the room, the gun was smoking, the magazine was empty, three of her colleagues were dead, and another three were seriously injured.

The shooting took place during a routine faculty meeting. However, Bishop had recently been informed that she had failed to acquire tenure after a long battle that included an appeal to be awarded the important job security that is awarded to some senior academics.

In the weeks that followed the shooting, strange details were revealed about Bishop's death, details which were just as bizarre as her now infamous final rampage. Bishop had been connected to several peculiar events, including the murder of her brother, a mail-bomb recieved by her former professor and a herpes-bomb set off in her office, but never convicted. This begs the question of exactly what kind of background check goes into hiring a professor at a college or university.

Dr. Larry Wolfe, director of the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at Santa Clara, said that there are various clues to reveal when someone could be on the verge of a violent outburst. "They may have smaller outburst, reveal vague threats such as, ‘You'll be sorry,' or even constantly displaying anger," said Wolfe. "This type of violent behavior has been seen before in graduate students. It's usually based upon some sort of existing mental illness."  According to Wolfe, the violence comes from "the final straw."

The pressures behind being a professor and applying for tenure are extremely high. The tenure system is a particularly important part of higher education in America. Tenure prevents professors from being fired without just cause. The idea is that they will be allowed to teach, and they will be protected from losing their jobs for expressing dissenting opinions or making open disagreements with public officials, similar to the way judges are protected from outside pressure.

According to Professor Isabelle Pafford, a lecturer in the classics department at Santa Clara, the tenure system has applicants jump through several hoops to be successful. "There's age discrimination and racial discrimination," said Pafford. "They make it extremely difficult for someone with a family to succeed."

What are the methods used to hire a professor?  Consider: professors are under copious amounts of stress. They are expected to bestow knowledge upon those that are going to be the shapers of the next generation of the world. They must show their worthiness by performing various tasks to prove their own worth; they must publish research and achieve good reviews as a teacher in order to attain tenure. Considering the stress that a professor must endure, it would make sense to run a thorough background check.

Pafford said that a background check wasn't required when she was hired. "I've applied for jobs that have required background checks, but I'm on the web, It isn't difficult to find out about most people with the internet."

Professor Barbara Kelley, a lecturer in the communications department of Santa Clara, doesn't recall having a background check. "I had to provide a resume and do several interviews, but I don't think they ever did a background check."

According to an Associated Press article from February, Bishop's personnel file and hiring file did not indicate any of Bishop's brushes with the law. Even after her arrest, a criminal background check did not reveal any dangerous activity from Bishop.

More investigative reports do exist, however.  Federal and different state laws, for instance, require an investigative report into the backgrounds of those who work with children, the disabled or the elderly. The federal National Child Protection Act even allows for state officials to access the FBI's National Crime Information Center in some cases.

Professors do go through a lot of stress, and they interact with young adults everywhere, still the children of many parents paying for their child to attend college.

Bishop could have just as easily unloaded her handgun into a classroom full of students, creating a legion of furious parents and a fear of sending children away to school, as well as an unrelenting media backlash.

Contact mrupel@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4596.