Florida Atlantic University is trying to fire James Tracy, a controversial professor whose conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook massacre and other tragedies brought the school unwanted publicity.
An FAU administrator gave Tracy a letter Wednesday saying he was being recommended for termination. He has 10 days to file an appeal, “after which final action may be taken,” a university statement said.
FAU officials wouldn’t give the exact reason, saying it’s the school’s policy not to comment on personnel matters. But the decision comes less than a week after a public feud between Tracy and the parents of a boy who died at Sandy Hook.
Tracy, who couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday, first received notoriety in early 2013, after he wrote on his private blog, Memory Hole, that the Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown, Conn., was likely staged. At the time, he received a reprimand because the university said he failed to make it clear his views didn’t represent those of the university.
Since then, Tracy claimed that almost every mass shooting or attack in the United States has been a hoax, including ones at the Boston Marathon, the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., and the recent shooting in San Bernadino, Calif.
An FAU administrator said in 2013 that Tracy’s actions resulted in a number of negative consequences for the school. But officials determined at the time that he couldn’t be fired for views he expressed on his own private blog and mostly ignored his posts.
However, the issue heated up again last week, when Veronique and Lenny Pozner, whose son, Noah, died at Sandy Hook, wrote an editorial in the Sun Sentinel accusing Tracy of taunting them.
“Tracy is among those who have personally sought to cause our family pain and anguish by publicly demonizing our attempts to keep cherished photos of our slain son from falling into the hands of conspiracy theorists,” they wrote in the Dec. 10 opinion piece.
They said he even sent them a certified letter demanding proof that Noah once lived, were his parents and owned the rights to the photo.
“We found this so outrageous and unsettling that we filed a police report for harassment,” they wrote. “Once Tracy realized we would not respond, he subjected us to ridicule and contempt on his blog, boasting to his readers that the ‘unfulfilled request’ was ‘noteworthy’ because we had used copyright claims to ‘thwart continued research of the Sandy Hook massacre event.’
Tracy lashed back on his “Sandy Hook Hoax” Facebook page, questioning the motives of the parents.
“The local conspirators in Newtown, such as the alleged parents of the murdered children, including Lenny and Veronique Pozner, have made out very well financially, soliciting contributions from generous yet misinformed Americans, where the families have averaged more than $1 million apiece.”
“The only proof Lenny has produced that Noah died in Sandy Hook is a death certificate he provided to one of the book’s contributors, which has been revealed as a fabrication,” Tracy wrote on his Facebook page. “If Noah actually died, there would have been no reason to fake it.”
Lenny Pozner issued a brief statement Tuesday night. “Veronique and I are relieved that truth and honor prevailed,” he said.
Here is the statement from FAU:
December 16, 2015
In light of numerous requests from media outlets and the public, the University makes the following statement:
Today, James Tracy, an associate professor in the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies, was served a Notice of Proposed Discipline — Termination by the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at Florida Atlantic University.
In accordance with the University’s Collective Bargaining Agreement with the United Faculty of Florida union, by which the University and James Tracy are bound, faculty who receive such notice are afforded a grievance process. James Tracy has 10 days to respond to the notice after which final action may be taken.
In accordance with university practice regarding personnel issues, the university will make no further comment for the time being.