Over the last several days, a fair amount of folks have sought me out to tell me that DeVry also fired them, and always for nebulous, undisclosed, or just plain weird reasons. I know there are more of you out there, though. I cordially invite you to get in touch with me, either by emailing me or leaving a comment (the moderation software emails me automatically). You know who you are.
The Phantom Professor has a nifty site (with a great, sleek visual sense, might I add). I think this brand of anonymity is delightful. She had a similar experience to mine, and with some similar oddities, and reports, like many of you, having gone on to much better things. Good on ya.
Media Law Prof Blog “Prof Bounced for Blogging: Meg Spohn, a doctoral candidate at the University of Denver, and a department chair at private, for profit DeVry University, maintains Megablog, where she comments on various things that interest her. DeVry apparently saw something that it objected to in one of her postings and, since Colorado is an employment-at-will state, summarily fired her. Staff escorted her out of the building. Spohn says she still does not know what in her post distressed the university administration, but here is her description of the event. Business Week’s Stephen Baker blogged about the firing here…” Thanks for your interest, Media Law Profs!
Overexcitable , and a commenter have some beautiful revolutionary ideas.
“Having read of another firing due to blogging (aka “doocing”) here, I’m wondering exactly how corporations and other organizations are going to deal with the ‘threat’ blogging represents. After all, they can’t fire EVERYONE. And they can’t impose rules on behaviour outside work time, although they can create a culture of fear (that’s easy!)
“For those who crave change and are looking for guerilla tactics, blogging is very powerful. My mischevious side is gleefully rubbing its palms together and chuckling. With the anonymity of the internet, perhaps the daily torture of work will finally be exposed, and commentors will be able to support each other in getting out of disgusting situations. How about live webcasts from within the workplace, showing some of the inanity? Podcasts of actual conversations between you and your crazy boss? Blog posts that contain complete emails (identifiers removed) that are particularly juicy? Oh, I’m just getting started. Hee hee hee!”
Check out the comments, too. I would like to have left one, but my browser doesn’t seem to like the comment form. I’ll have to poke at that…
A Corn Farmer in Colorado reposted some of her comments in her own space, which is cool. She also adds: “A one of a kind teacher: Here are some of the things I will miss about Meg. Maybe we should have a tribute to meg day!?”
I might add that what makes teaching rewarding and fun is having wonderful students. Megfest is traditionally held around March 9th (my annual 29th birthday), but if that’s not convenient, I’m sure we could work something out.
January 7th, 2006 at 8:43 pm
Yay! I can’t wait for Megfest! It will be a hell of a party this year! Can we even wear blue jeans and ride around in your car?
Oh my, whatever will we do! 
January 8th, 2006 at 8:21 am
1: Best of luck as you continue to deal with the firing. I know what it’s like to be a doc candidate level academic trying to make it all work in the Denver market, and this has to hurt.
2: DeVry, and other outfits like them, are going to respond to one thing and one thing only - pain in the wallet. Not that I’d encourage you to instigate anything, but boy, would I encourage your students to raise some hell.
3: Let us know if you ever get any specifics on what they were reacting to.
January 9th, 2006 at 4:25 am
I’d like to know more about Colorado and it’s employment at will status. It seems that most states are either right to work states and don’t have unions any longer or employment at will…which I’m not sure how that varies.
Are there unions in Colorado? More so than in Florida…where they seem not to exist at all? Could Meg have joined a union for teachers or would it have helped at all?
January 9th, 2006 at 9:59 am
Corn: I predict that Megfest will be especially festive this year…
Sam: Thanks for the support–it is pretty tough, and I’d like to think there’s at least a dull ache in the wallet at this point, not that I’m finished yet. No worries, I’ll keep you posted!
479: I am no expert on Colorado labor law or practices (or Florida’s for that matter). I can tell you that there was no union to join–none of which I was aware, anyway.
October 2nd, 2006 at 5:57 am
Alternate megablog definitions
Assigning the moniker “megablog” to a web site seems naturally to suggest that said blog would have high traffic, significant revenue generation, notoriety, well-received content, etc. Because such blogs are common, it’s becoming important to modify…
October 2nd, 2006 at 8:11 am
Whatever you say, Culturetastic.
November 29th, 2006 at 1:52 am
[...] her blog is here and relevant entries are here and here. [...]
February 27th, 2009 at 8:47 am
Spohn,
I do not condone the language of choice used in the emails listed, however I am a current student of Devry and would like to say that it is dispicable how that school’s only focus is money in their pocket becuase it is a business and not a school of higher learning . I am disappointed that I chose that school to attend, however it was the only school in columbus that would transfer in so many credit hours. Well I hope that you seek the face of God and get his direction on how you should proceed with Devry. I do concur they are not right and I had to go as high as the CEO in Chicago IL to get something resolved and it is still not resolved.
February 28th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Thanks, Me. I hope your educational experiences improve. The way I chose to proceed was to get on with my life, my degree, and my career, and not expend any more of my resources on the surreal weirdness of DeVry. It’s been working out pretty well, I must say. I got my Ph.D. I’ve been working in the same program teaching grad students for the past few years and advising master’s theses; and I got some paid blogging gigs, which I probably wouldn’t have, had my story not gone public (incidentally, both of those things pay better than DeVry did, plus they were more fun, and I felt a lot more valued and respected by my employers), I’ve been publishing my work, and some of my former students from DeVry have become very good friends. I think it all worked out pretty well. Best of luck!