BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — A tenured professor at Ferris State University has been placed on administrative leave after posting aprofanity-laced course introduction video for his students on his YouTube account.
Ferris State University confirms that Barry Mehler, a tenured professor in the humanities department and director for the Institute for the Study of Academic Racism, was placed on leave after posting the video.
In the video, Mehler says students are “vectors of disease” and encourages students not to come to class, but rather to communicate with him via Zoom.
“So, if you want to go complain to your dean, f*** you, go ahead, I’m retiring at the end of this year and I couldn’t give a flying f*** any longer. You people are just vectors of disease to me, and I don’t want to be anywhere near you, so keep your f****** distance,” Mehler says in the video.
We reached out to Ferris State University and received the following statement:
Ferris State University is aware of a course video distributed to students, in early January, by a faculty member, believed to be Professor Barry Mehler. The faculty member has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation.
Ferris President David Eisler provided the following statement, “I was shocked and appalled by this video. It is profane, offensive and disturbing and in no way reflects our University or its values.”
As this is a personnel matter, the University has no further comment.
In early 2021, an FSU science professor was fired for using racist, anti-Semitic slurs on Twitter.
