Beyond criminal arrests, UNF professor had disciplinary issues on campus

• By Drew Dixon
• Story updated at 12:29 AM on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010

• Photos

Tayeb Giuma

A University of North Florida associate professor who is facing a battery charge after a contractor was attacked at his Queen's Harbour home has faced a series of previous campus disciplinary actions ranging from reprimands to a suspension to near termination.

Tayeb Giuma, a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, has a pretrial hearing set for Feb. 2 in Duval County Court on the misdemeanor battery charge that he beat contractor Dustin Brown with an 8-foot board during an argument over a gazebo construction project in September at the gated community off of Atlantic Boulevard.

That charge came after several arrests for Giuma in the past decade. Some students on the UNF campus have called for Giuma's firing based on his arrest history.

The university's records show that Giuma, who has worked at UNF since 1987, has faced disciplinary actions several times.

In October 1997, Giuma was reprimanded by Department of Electrical Engineering Director William Caldwell for Giuma's "affront" to another faculty member who was seeking tenure. Giuma issued "an uncalled-for personal attack" and showed "non-collegial actions" against the other faculty member, Caldwell said in his written reprimand.

In December 1999, then-UNF Provost and Vice President David Kline suspended Giuma without pay for 10 days. Kline said in a memo that Giuma demonstrated "unprofessional behavior" to the Electrical Engineering Promotion and Tenure Committee in November of that year.

Giuma had been repeatedly warned about his behavior, said Kline, who is now a professor of philosophy and director of the Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Florida Ethics Center at UNF.

In June 2008, UNF Provost and Vice President Mark Workman warned Giuma in a memo that he had inappropriately published a student's electrical engineering class paper without the student's permission. "Any similar academic misconduct on your part will result in the immediate termination of your employment," Workman said in his warning to Giuma.

Most recently, in June, UNF President John Delaney nearly fired Giuma for "scholarly misconduct" after three other students complained that the professor had published their electrical engineering class papers without their permission. In his memo, Delaney said there was initially a "notice to terminate," but he withheld the notice because of a series of technicalities and defenses from Giuma, university records show.

While Giuma was allowed to keep his job, Delaney issued a stern warning in the memo: "I feel it necessary to make clear that in working with students you must be careful to follow certain basic standards."

UNF Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Joann Campbell is overseeing the school's current investigation into Giuma, who was placed on administrative leave in late 2009. She said Giuma hasn't been fired because his conduct was relatively tranquil since his reprimands in the 1990s.

"Part of the issue is that the previous suspension from David Kline was over 10 years prior to the recent incidents arising. Over a 10-year period he had no other incidents," Campbell said Friday. "We are still investigating those [criminal] charges as it relates to his issues here on campus and how they relate to his employment here at UNF."

Giuma is a tenured associate professor, said Campbell, which means he can remain employed until he resigns, retires, is laid off or there is just cause for termination.

Campbell said it's not clear if the current charge constitutes just cause to terminate. "The investigation is still ongoing," she said. "Until it's concluded, it's all speculation as to what the outcome will be."

Two voice mails left on Giuma's phone seeking comment were not returned.

An editorial in UNF's student newspaper, The Spinnaker, called for Giuma's firing.

The recent arrest creates an awkward circumstance for the university, said Campbell, who said UNF administrators were not aware of Giuma's Jacksonville Sheriff's Office arrests prior to September's battery charge. The arrests range from petit theft to child abuse; all of those charges were either dropped or judgments were withheld after Giuma pleaded no contest in court, records show.

"Anytime you get into an investigation into a faculty member's behavior or performance, it's difficult. But it's our responsibility to do as thorough investigation as we can," Campbell said.

Campbell said the last time UNF fired a faculty member was about two years ago and that there are few instances of termination for misconduct since the school was founded in 1972.

Drew Dixon can also be reached at (904) 249-4947, ext. 6313.