Suspended UCF Professor Wins Reinstatement; Termination of Second Proceeds
An assistant professor with the Institute for Simulation and Training at the University of Central Florida (UCF) successfully appealed his proposed termination and returned to work Feb. 24, but the firing of an IST associate professor is proceeding, RRC has learned. UCF announced Jan. 27 that it was taking steps to terminate Daniel Barber, Lauren Reinerman-Jones and IST Director Randall Shumaker after a “lengthy investigation found they were involved in helping a student obtain a doctoral degree in exchange for grant funding and with inappropriate assistance from faculty advisors and others.” Shumaker retired Feb. 7, but both Barber and Reinerman-Jones appealed their proposed terminations, using the same attorney and making nearly identical arguments, including that the allegations were vague and unproven and that their due process rights were violated.
UCF reinstated Barber with a letter of reprimand, UCF confirmed, but it is “moving forward with the termination” of Reinerman-Jones, spokesman Chad Binette told RRC Feb. 25. The decisions were made after “a thorough review of the information provided” as part of their appeal. UCF “takes seriously any violations of academic integrity, as well as the due process rights for our staff and faculty members that ensure the fairness of employment decisions,” he added.