THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 15, 1995 TAG: 9503210532
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
College of The Albemarle trustees have refused to grant an audience to Jim Bridges, a former associate professor of English who was fired last year after some students complained about his sexually explicit language in and out of class.
Bridges' written request for a chance to propose his reinstatement was discussed as a personnel matter in closed session at the trustees meeting late Monday night.
A letter denying his request was hand-delivered to Bridges on Tuesday morning, board Chairman Bruce Biggs said.
``The board finds that the terms suggested by Mr. Bridges would be clearly contrary, in multiple ways, to the policies, procedures and interests of College of The Albemarle,'' says a statement from the trustee board. ``Therefore, the board has no interest in pursuing further Mr. Bridges' proposal.''
Bridges had suggested in a Feb. 21 letter to COA trustees that he come back to work for the college on a nine-month contract in which he reported directly to the board of trustees.
Only COA President Larry Donnithorne currently answers directly to the board, Biggs said, and the trustees decided not to change that policy.
It was Donnithorne who recommended firing Bridges last March on grounds of misconduct and insubordination after warning him that the sexual content of his lectures and campus postings could lead to disciplinary action.
A handful of students had formally complained in recent years that Bridges' teaching of sexually explicit novels and his handouts were offensive. Bridges said his materials addressed crucial topics and inspired students to think for themselves, but COA officials told Bridges he was risking a sexual harassment suit.
The trustees upheld Donnithorne's action in spring 1994 after a lengthy closed hearing that Bridges unsuccessfully had asked to be open.
In the Feb. 21 letter, Bridges said COA could answer concerns about sexual harassment suits by advertising Bridges' classes as ``adult'' and ``potentially offensive.''
He also suggested requiring students taking his classes to sign a pledge not to sue Bridges or the school.
``I know that what I am asking is highly unusual, but I think it is justified by the merits of my case,'' Bridges wrote in a March 1 memo to Biggs. The 10-point memo defends Bridges' teaching style, points out what Bridges says are contradictions in official actions and threatens the possibility of a damaging lawsuit against COA.
``I believe that I have proposed a reasonable, honorable alternative, one that seems to me preferable to all concerned to legal recourse,'' Bridges' memo says.
But the trustees, who voted unanimously to deny Bridges another hearing, did not agree. They thought it would be inappropriate to advertise a class as possibly offensive, Biggs said, and they didn't want to ask students to waive their rights by pledging not to sue.
``I think the board had strong feelings about what they were doing and felt that as stewards of the college . . . they were doing the right thing,'' Biggs said.
Bridges, who taught at COA for nearly 30 years and is currently unemployed, seemed undaunted by the board's decision Tuesday.
``I hoped that wisdom would prevail over political correctness,'' Bridges said after delivering a three-page statement about the decision.
Bridges' statement says he will continue fighting for a return to COA and proposes that he be allowed to work on campus as ``a freelance tutor/guru.'' Bridges also said the option of suing the college remains open but that he does not want to do so. by CNB