Gay choir
director won't be reinstated at University of North Dakota

A panel at the University of North Dakota has recommended that the school's openly gay choir director be fired "with cause" at the end of the spring semester, which begins January 9, the Grand Forks Herald reported Monday. All five members of the Standing Committee on Faculty Rights said that assistant professor Anthony Reeves will be paid but will remain on administrative leave. He has been on leave since last August, the newspaper reported. Reeves claims the school was trying to boot him due to his sexuality and the fact that he and his partner tried to adopt a 19-year-old student. However, the committee says that he engaged in "inappropriate and unprofessional activity in his role as professor that had nothing to do with sex," according to the newspaper. "I really think it's sad for the students, Dr. Reeves, and the university, and I think it's sad that there weren't some efforts taken before the hearing to resolve the problems," Henry Howe, Reeves's lawyer, told the Herald. Howe had said in the past that Reeves's case would end up in court but said he wants to read the final report before deciding on a course of action. (Advocate.com)