OUTSPOKEN PROFESSOR FIRED.
Terminated months after probe launched
WOLFVILLE, N.S. •Anova Scotia professor who stoked a national debate about free speech on campus after making controversial comments on social media and in the classroom has been fired.
Acadia University confirmed Friday that Rick Mehta had been dismissed, several months after the Wolfville, N.S., school launched a formal investigation into complaints against the psychology professor.
University spokesman Scott Roberts said he was unable to comment or “provide any elaboration” on the dismissal as it was a confidential personnel matter.
He also was unable to provide details of the findings of the investigation overseen by Dalhousie University professor emeritus Wayne Mackay, noting that it’s a “privileged document.”
The Acadia University Faculty Association said in a statement Friday that it was informed of the firing on Aug. 31, and has since filed for arbitration.
“The termination of a tenured professor is very serious, and (the faculty association) has filed for arbitration while its senior grievance officer and legal counsel examine the administration’s disciplinary procedures and evidence,” the statement said.
Mehta could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday. However, he retweeted a blog article that discussed his firing.
Last month, he said in an email that the only way he could have a copy of the investigation report by Mackay was by signing an agreement, which he called a “gag order.”
Mehta was outspoken both on campus and online about a range of contentious issues including decolonization, immigration and gender politics, garnering both supporters and opposition.
He came under fire for saying multiculturalism is a scam, denying the wage gap between men and women, and dismissing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as a vehicle for “endless apologies and compensation.”
While his defenders called his voice an antidote to political correctness run amok, his critics said his polarizing comments attacked marginalized people and perpetuated harmful stereotypes.
In March, the Canadian Association of University Teachers appointed a committee to review how Acadia handled grievances against Mehta to determine whether his academic freedom had been breached or threatened.