Kansas Professor on Leave Over NRA Tweet Won’t Return to Classroom in 2013

The University of Kansas announced on Thursday that a journalism professor who was placed on indefinite paid leave last month over a controversial tweet about the National Rifle Association would not return to the classroom this year.

David W. Guth, an associate professor of journalism, was placed on leave after posting a tweet, in the wake of the September 16 shootings at the Washington Navy Yard, that stated, “The blood is on the hands of the #NRA. Next time, let it be YOUR sons and daughters. Shame on you. May God damn you.” The university condemned those comments at the time, though some professors criticized the decision to place Mr. Guth on leave.

The university said in a written statement on Thursday that Mr. Guth had been assigned “additional non-classroom responsibilities” for the rest of the semester, which included “various service and administrative assignments.” The university said those duties would be “completed away from campus to the greatest extent possible.”

The university said the decision had been made by its provost, Jeffrey S. Vitter, and approved by its chancellor, Bernadette Gray-Little, based on a recommendation from a committee of faculty and staff members.

Ms. Gray-Little said in the statement that the committee had conducted a “full review,” adding that the university’s “decisions throughout this situation have been guided by the facts and the law, respecting the interests of our students and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.”