FAIRMONT, W.Va. — A national organization that represents journalists has requested that a Fairmont State University journalism professor be reinstated.
On Tuesday, Society of Professional Journalists President Dana Neuts sent a letter to FSU President Maria Rose asking that Michael Kelley be reinstated without penalty as a professor and adviser to the student-run newspaper.
“So far, the university’s responses to allegations of censorship, violations of First Amendment rights, and bullying are inadequate and do not reflect a genuine commitment on the part of the university to independently investigate the treatment of journalists and journalism at Fairmont State,” Neuts said in the letter. “This is not a ‘contract matter’ to be adjudicated through faculty appeal channels. No one at the university has adequately explained why it was necessary to let Mr. Kelley — a well-credentialed journalism adviser — go…
