Man Bites Dog in Academia

Recently, the University of California, Irvine hired Dr. Erwin Chemerinsky as dean of its new law school. Incredibly, UCI then fired him a few days later due to concerns over his political views. What makes this story unique is that UCI allegedly worried that Dr. Chemerinsky is too liberal. No, I am not making this up.

Since then, this story has taken an even more bizarre twist, as UCI has apparently changed its mind and offered to rehire Dr. Chemerinsky. I understand that administrators are different from teaching faculty, and are considered representatives of the university in a way that the latter are not. Still, I think firing someone for their political views is ridiculous, especially in academia of all places. I hope Dr. Chemerinsky does get the job back, assuming he still wants it.

(All links via Instapundit, who has much more on this case)