Like many other pioneers, the Nielsens have had many generations to spread across the whole state. Happy Pioneer Day!

The contracts of non-tenured (but tenure-track) faculty run year-to-year and may be renewed only by agreement of both parties. For non-tenured faculty, the university is not obligated to state a reason why a contract is not renewed. I recently finished a term as department chair. Faculty whose contracts are not renewed always want to know the reason. For obvious reasons, the university did not want me to ever state a reason. The institution simply exercised its contractual prerogative to not renew. If we give a reason, that just gives the person a reason to try to challenge.

For adjunct faculty, the situation is different. Adjuncts are hired for a single semester. The contract automatically terminates at the end of the semester. Both parties can agree to another contract for a later semester, but there is no provision for continuing or renewing the original contract. There is no such thing as “firing” an adjunct, unless it happens in the middle of the semester during the contract period.

Robertson was not fired. She was allowed to finish the academic term, and both parties fulfilled the contract. BYUI simply chose not to make use of her services for the coming semester. The university should not have had to state any reason for this, and I suspect that they did not give any formal reason. The story that she was “fired” because of her Facebook post or because of her views of homosexuality, comes from Robertson, and the story does not comport with her status as an adjunct.

As a faculty member at a Catholic institution, I am free to eat meat on Good Friday, use or promote birth control, publicly disagree with the Pope, or profess any range of belief or non-belief in God. But the university does have the reasonable expectation that I give Catholic faith and practice the appropriate respect and dignity. A number of my colleagues are quite atheistic and secular. But they have no difficulty meeting the respect and dignity standard.

Aside from Robertson’s Facebook post, the salty comments attributed to her certainly cross to the wrong side of the respect and dignity line. If she were at my university making corresponding comments about Catholicism, she would be subject to dismissal, even if she had tenure. And we’re really laid back when it comes to the religious beliefs and practices of faculty.

I would not argue that BYUI handled this well. BYU in general has a history of ironically making bad publicity for itself in the process of “maintaining its image.” But I blame most of the brouhaha on Robertson. Robertson and BYUI were not a good fit to begin with. Contrary to her claims, she was not fired. No matter how competent and well-behaved, adjuncts have no expectation of continuing employment. The facebook post and views on homosexuality likely had little or nothing to do with her current unemployment, and she attacked the sponsoring institution in ways that would not be tolerated at other private universities.

Why can’t we go back to the scriptural injunction to “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” ?

Clark. You wrote: “Part of the problem is that often the most egregious actors are either sociopaths or borderline sociopaths. Often they have extremely good skills at both deception but to act in the ways people expect (contrite, “full of remorse,” etc.). It’s sad, but they can often pull the wool over people’s eyes.”

This is spot on exact. It is not just the HCO, but many bishops and stake presidents attempting to negotiate through sociopathic evil have also caused much harm. Mormon culture, like other cultures, does not do evil well, or sociopathic behavior well. Middle managing through this kind of behavior, using Mormon tropes, has many problems and can be ruinous to people’s lives.

You also wrote: “I think part of the problem is the church is still coming out of a certain type of “appropriate behavior.” These appropriate behaviors, including dress, grooming and speech is seen as appropriateness often not really tied to gospel principles. That’s kind of beset aspects of what you call “middle management.” It’s really hard to break corporate cycles in that sense. (Any corporate culture not just ours).”

Yep. What did Chesterton say, “If you do not live the big laws, you do not get freedom, and you do not even get anarchy, you get the small laws.”

It appears you’ve been around the block once or twice.

Clark, you need to start awarding a comment of the day award on your posts. I nominate John.