U. of Iowa President Apologizes for Suggesting Unprepared Professors Be Shot

[Updated (12/15/2015, 2 p.m.) with a response from the university and a copy of the email correspondence.]

The president of the University of Iowa, J. Bruce Harreld, has apologized to a campus librarian — and vocal critic of his hiring — for suggesting that professors unprepared to teach be shot. The Associated Press reports Mr. Harreld told Lisa Gardinier that he was sorry for an “unfortunate off-the-cuff remark” he made during a meeting of the Staff Council last week.

“Frankly, I have used the comment in many, many forums, and this is the first time anyone has objected to it,” Mr. Harreld wrote to Ms. Gardinier. “I apologize and appreciate your calling my attention to it.”

In their correspondence, which Ms. Gardinier shared with the AP, she told Mr. Harreld she appreciated his apology, although she described as “horrifying and unacceptable” the notion that a university president could make such a comment, even if intended flippantly, at a time when a series of mass shootings has heightened fears of campus violence.

Many faculty members have strongly criticized the hiring of Mr. Harreld for its lack of transparency — and the fact that Mr. Harreld does not have a primarily academic background.

A university spokeswoman, Anne E. Bassett, told The Chronicle in an email that Mr. Harreld had appropriately addressed the issue. She also provided the email thread between Mr. Harreld and Ms. Gardinier, reproduced below: