Feud Between U. of Idaho and Professor Reaches Fever Pitch as Officials Accuse Her of Meth Use and Access to Guns

In a campuswide alert, University of Idaho administrators told people on Wednesday to call 911 if they saw Denise Bennett, an associate professor of journalism, on campus, saying she had told the police of her “meth use” and access to guns — assertions the professor fiercely denies.

The alert is the latest development in a high-profile spat between Bennett and the university, which placed her on leave this month, drawing outcry from students.

Wednesday’s alert, reported by the student newspaper, The Argonaut, says that Bennett has been barred from campus and referenced “recent admittance to police of meth use and access to firearms.” Jodi Walker, the university’s director of communications, told The Chronicle that that information came from a Moscow Police Department report. The department polices the campus, as well as the city of Moscow.

According to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, which cited the report, Bennett told the police that she last used methamphetamine on November 3, and she wasn’t in possession of it when the police contacted her.

On November 4, Moscow police officers were called to a location to look into a domestic dispute, said Capt. Tyson Berrett. The argument was between Bennett and another adult, the captain told The Chronicle. Berrett said that during the interaction, Bennett told the police that she and the other person were high on meth.

There was no evidence of any criminal activity related to domestic violence, Berrett said. No charges were filed, he said, and Bennett is not under criminal investigation by the department.

Reached by text message, Bennett called the university’s assertions “lies” and “defamation!”

“I am not a threat to campus. I don’t own a gun. There are no guns in my home,” she said. “I’ll be taking a blood test here soon,” she added, presumably referring to the accusation of methamphetamine use.

Bennett directed further questions to her lawyer. Phone and email messages sent to the law firm were not immediately returned.

By issuing the alert, the university is “erring on the side of caution,” Walker said. There is no immediate threat to campus, she said.

An Angry Manifesto

The saga seems to have begun on January 22, when Bennett sent an email to “every administrator I could think of,” she said later in a live-streamed YouTube video. She was frustrated about many things, the email said, including issues with tracking grant money. The email’s subject line read: “A MANIFESTO FROM A PROFESSOR WHO IS BEYOND FURIOUS.” Bennett said in the video that she used all-caps because it signifies yelling.

“I am so frustrated and fed up with all the powers that be here,” Bennett wrote in the email, which was peppered with curse words.

Two days later, Bennett was placed on indefinite administrative leave. Some of her students protested, launching a social-media campaign to get her reinstated.

“More than anything, I want to see her reinstated,” Emily Davis, a student in charge of a Reinstate Denise Bennett Facebook page, told The Argonaut. “I want her in my classroom this week because she is still my professor this semester. I want her rightfully back teaching students. I just wish more people understood how important she is to this university.”

Students also planned a sit-in for Wednesday, which was postponed after the universitywide alert was issued.

In the YouTube video Bennett posted after she was placed on leave, she read aloud the paperwork that she said was mailed to her about her administrative leave.

“You are being placed on administrative leave because of your unprofessional conduct with myself and another university employee,” Bennett read from the letter, which seems to have been written by Sean Quinlan, interim dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences. Quinlan was not available for comment on Wednesday.

The letter says Bennett raised her voice to two people and was “accosting a university employee.”

During the reading, Bennett interjected to express her frustration: “I interact with students in a way more offensive manner, in a way more uncivil manner, on a daily basis. I yell at them,” she said. “And the reason why is because it’s a performance, dude. You get people’s attention when you raise your voice.”

Updated (1/31/2019, 2:56 p.m.) with information from the police report, which was cited by local news outlets.

Emma Pettit is a staff reporter at The Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter @EmmaJanePettit, or email her at emma.pettit@chronicle.com.