The core of the issue

In January, a dispute inside the University of Idaho Journalism and Mass Media department surrounding grant spending quickly sparked outrage and dissent, leading to student protests and campus-wide confusion.

The dean of the UI College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences, Sean Quinlan, placed professor Denise Bennett on administrative leave for unprofessional conduct in late January. Not long after, student groups organized in support of the professor they felt had been wronged by the university. 

But the core of the issue — grant management within JAMM—  remained in limbo. 

Denise Bennett | Courtesy

UI returned $4,451.22 in grant funds to the PRIDE Foundation, at the foundation’s request, which was originally given to Bennett, according to Jodi Walker, UI spokesperson. The foundation requested the funds be returned in an email Feb. 20. 

It is the latest development in Bennett’s case, which largely remained out of the public eye after a flurry of news reports earlier this year.

The PRIDE Foundation originally awarded $4,000 to be given to Bennett in 2018 and another $4,000 in 2019. 

Bennett did not spend a total $451.22 before the fund’s term expired in 2018, leading Bennett to pen an expletive-laden email to university administrators and departmental employees Jan. 22. Bennett, a tenured professor, was the principal investigator on the grant with the responsibility to manage the funds herself, Walker said. She originally reached out to the PRIDE Foundation Jan. 24 for help on handling her grant funds, in light of them expiring.

Walker said other departmental assistants help manage grants, mainly in filing expense sheets but not typically in other substantive matters.

Bennett disagreed, saying department administrative assistants and the Office of Sponsored Research are responsible for grant management.

“My job function is to teach classes and to do the research and to do the projects the grants are for,” Bennett said. “I’m not an accountant, I’m not an adminstrator. I thought that’s what their job function was.”

The whole of that semester’s funds needed to be spent by Dec. 31, 2018. After the money expired, Bennett responded with a three-page long email titled, “A MANIFESTO FROM A PROFESSOR WHO IS BEYOND FURIOUS.”

Placed on administrative leave

Bennett was not placed on administrative because of the email or her use of profanity. As records show, there is not a profanity policy in place at UI. 

Instead, her leave was due to “unprofessional conduct with” Quinlan “and another university employee, specifically the actions of (Bennett) raising (her) voice and accosting a university employee who was attempting to perform the functions of her job,” according to what Bennett relayed in a live stream where she read the terms of her leave.

A week after sending the email, Bennett visited with a JAMM staff member to discuss the grant proposal of a student she was advising. According to a Vandal CARE Report, the staffer demanded to see the student’s grant proposal and budget. However, Bennett, as the adviser, was tasked with managing the grant funds for the student.

Olivia Heersink | Argonaut
UI broadcasting and digital media student Bailey O’Bryant adjusts the studio lighting in the Radio and Television Center.

The student, Bailey O’Bryant, was awarded a $1,000 grant from the Office of Undergraduate Research for his short film project “Triggered,” which will focus on violence against women.

Bennett and O’Bryant were not told why the staff member needed the grant proposal paperwork.

But O’Bryant said he and Bennett reached out to the staff member to ask why the department needed his grant proposal and itemized budget for the film. 

“Seeing as Denise (Bennett) was the one in charge of my grant, we were confused and acting out of precaution for what she dealt with the previous semester,” O’Bryant said.

The Office of Sponsored Research redirected requests for comment to UI spokesperson Jodi Walker.

What the records show

Students across campus received an unprecedented Vandal Alert the morning of Jan. 30. The university had barred Bennett from campus, referencing “recent admittance to police of meth use and access to firearms.”

The information referenced in the alert comes from a November 2018 police report in which Bennett admitted to police she used methamphetamine and gathered her husband’s guns in her vehicle to sell them to without his knowledge.

“We felt strongly that a report from two or three months ago couldn’t be ignored if it was relevant to a specific issue,” Walker said. “There was no specific threat, there was no direct threat. There was potential threat and concern to safety by the university. While there was no direct threat, that doesn’t mean the university shouldn’t take it seriously and review all aspects and respond in an appropriate way.”

The records also show the planned Jan. 30 student protest in support of Bennett factored into the university’s decision to divulge Bennett’s personal information through a Vandal Alert.

“We do not normally give out this kind of information on a person of concern. It was decided by the president (REDACTED) to do so in this instance because of the time proximity to the planned student protest,” wrote Todd Perry, UI director of Emergency Management Systems, in an email to Brian Johnson, UI assistant vice president of facilities Jan. 30, roughly half an hour after the initial Vandal Alert was sent out.

“Indeed, the timing of the protest definitely impacted the decisions that were made,” Walker said. “Safety of students was our primary concern.”

She also said there was no intention to stop the protest, which was ultimately rescheduled for that evening by the REINSTATE DENISE BENNETT student group after the Vandal Alert was issued.

Growing concern

Several students and concerned alums emailed university administration expressing discontent in the university’s placement of Bennett on administrative leave. 

Chuck Staben | Courtesy

In response to one query, Staben replied “Thank you for sharing your perspective and concerns,” Staben wrote at 1:52 p.m. Jan. 25. “The laws protecting employee privacy prevent the discussion of employment related issues. So, while we cannot give you a holistic response, we do appreciate the information you have shared.”

In response to another query sent to Quinlan Jan. 25, Staben wrote to a faculty member “I recommend you not reply to these sorts of inquiries in any substantive way-at most acknowledging receipt of the communication and saying that the University has no comment on this situation.”

One self-described donor to the UI School of Journalism and Mass Media later that day also sent an email requesting cancellation of their “recurring gifts to” the school “effective immediately.

“If you will not support those faculty and the students in this area, I cannot continue to offer my financial support to the University of Idaho,” they wrote.

JAMM Director Robin Johnson sent an email Jan. 28 clearing language to send to faculty about Bennett’s situation. 

The email reads, “Some individuals including students are engaging in protest about the decision through petitions and posting flyers on campus. The School of Journalism and Mass Media recognizes the importance of freedom of speech and respects the free exercise of rights.”

What’s next?

Bennett said she plans to pursue legal action against the university. 

“I will pursue legal action that protects my First Amendment rights,” Bennett said. “I need to deal with the employment issue and changing legal counsel.”

Bennett said her dismissal hearing is scheduled for May 13, the Monday after the end of the 2018-2019 academic year. 

Kyle Pfannenstiel can be reached at [email protected]

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article identified the incorrect Brian Johnson. The correct Johnson is assistant vice president of facilities, not a professor of electrical and computer engineering.