Associate professor Patrick Davis, already under investigation for his relationship with a student, has been suspended with pay after education dean Marci Greene received a separate complaint “alleging unprofessional behavior in the classroom.”
He was suspended with pay Oct. 30, according to a document FGCU released Tuesday in response to a public records request from news-press.com. Provost Ronald Toll notified Davis that his suspension would run at least through the end of the fall 2009 semester. The university seized Davis’ computer and froze his e-mail account, a standard procedure, and also directed him to not contact any FGCU students outside his immediate family or visit campus.
Davis e-mailed The News-Press on Tuesday afternoon, saying he could not comment on the issue because of a confidentiality clause put into his suspension letter.
“However, I can say that I have faithfully and honorably served as a professor at FGCU for almost eight years. I am confident that I have committed no violation of University policy, procedure or State law,” Davis wrote.
Davis teachers counseling courses within the College of Education, and is a licensed mental health counselor in Florida and licensed professional counselor in Texas. In early August, fellow professors Madelyn Isaacs and Russell Sabella approached Greene with concerns that Davis had a conflict of interest and showed unprofessional behavior in changing his fiance’s grades after the semester ended.
