Supporters of fired professor hold rally at Reno campus
RENO -- A group of citizen activists rallied Saturday to protest the firing of a University of Nevada, Reno professor who complained about the school's treatment of research animals.
About 30 demonstrators waved placards during the two-hour campus rally held on behalf of Hussein S. Hussein, an internationally renowned animal nutritionist who was fired April 11 by UNR President Milton Glick.
Demonstrators called for Hussein's reinstatement as a professor, and pressed Gov. Jim Gibbons and the Nevada Board of Regents for a full investigation of UNR's treatment of research animals.
Protester Rich Schweickert, a university geology professor, also complained about the 2007 firing of UNR women's soccer coach Terri Patraw after she alleged violations in the school's athletic program.
"Universities are supposed to be the one place where there's academic freedom and freedom of speech but not at UNR," Schweickert said. "They've stood up for the truth and their lives are destroyed."
University spokeswoman Jane Tors said academic freedom and the exchange of ideas are central to the school's culture, and Glick's action followed a hearing officer's finding that Hussein knowingly misrepresented money given to support his research.
A federal investigation sparked by Hussein's complaints about UNR's animal farm and labs resulted in the USDA citing the university for 46 violations of federal animal welfare regulations from May 2004 to March 2005.
The school agreed to pay an $11,400 fine.
