Edison State Moves to Fire Official Who Reported Academic Wrongdoing

The president of Edison State College said Tuesday that he plans to fire the institution's top academic administrator for insubordination and a "complete lack of collegiality" -- citing among other incidents the official's decision to tell the college's accreditor about what became a highly publicized controversy over the potentially improper awarding of credits. In a letter released to local reporters, President Kenneth P. Walker, whose leadership of the Florida college has been enmeshed in controversy for much of the year, told Steve Atkins, the vice president for academic affairs, that he would ask trustees to dismiss Atkins and that Atkins could not come on campus without permission from the human resources office. Walker cited a range of actions that he said showed that Atkins could "no longer serve in the position." In an interview with a local television station as he left the campus Tuesday, Atkins said he had told Edison State officials Saturday that he planned to sue the institution for creating a hostile work environment and retaliating against him.