Editor's Note: On April 19, 2013, The Daily Cardinal issued the following retraction regarding this article, and the article has been edited to reflect the correct information: In an April 26, 2011 news story about a lawsuit filed against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater by assistant professor Zhengnan Shi, The Daily Cardinal incorrectly reported that Shi had been fired, while he was still employed at the university. The Daily Cardinal regrets the error. The story also reported that Shi was being investigated for alleged remarks related to the Virginia Tech shootings. He has since been cleared of making the alleged remarks. We regret any misunderstanding the errors may have caused.
Former UW-Whitewater assistant professor Zhengnan Shi filed a lawsuit against the university in an attempt to get his job back after he was disciplined for allegedly making threatening statements that referenced the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings.
Shi had been an assistant professor of math and computer science since August 2008 and has requested judicial review of the decision. The office of UW-Whitewater Chancellor Richard Telfer, who banned Shi from campus, declined to comment on the case.
According to UW-Whitewater campus newspaper the Royal Purple, campus and federal officials investigated a statement Shi allegedly made in 2010. Shi was accused of saying, ""If I continue to get pushed too hard, this will turn out like Virginia Tech,"" referencing the April 16, 2007, shooting spree by Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho that left 32 people dead and injured 25 others. Investigations have cleared Shi in the matter.
Shi was originally removed from his position but still allowed on campus to attend appointments and scheduled hearings. However, the dean of the Whitewater College of Letters and Sciences and the chair of the math and computer sciences department submitted a complaint to Telfer to have Shi dismissed permanently.
The complaint also said Shi displayed signs of stress and anger around other faculty members and students in the time up until he allegedly made the statement. Some students filed informal complaints during a university review process, but no formal complaints were filed against Shi.
Shi's attorney told the Royal Purple they considered the allegations to be ""defamatory and serious."" According to Shi's petition for judicial review, he believes he was never told the reasoning behind the decision to relieve him of his teaching duties and was never advised to any right of appeal.
Shi could not be reached for comment.
Editor's Note 2: The original article stated "several complains" were filed against Shi and his teaching style. The sentence has been changed to more accurately reflect the situation.
