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Re: [Fwd: Physicist fired for writing book]



Re. stolen time:

I suspect the stolen time was the good reason, not the "real" reason for the
firing. I have a similar story to the quoted below.


When I was the manager of a Phys. Dept. at a community college, my
supervisor (Dept. Chair) "caught" me repairing a piece of personal
electronics equipment during hours. I sheepishly answered his question
on what I was doing. His reply was that I had given the wrong answer.
I should have said to the effect that I was developing my electronics
skill (for the benefit of the dept.).

If I had been a "difficult" employee, he would have "written me up."
Instead, the hidden message was he considered me a valuable employee.

Obviously Dr. Schmidt was a difficult employee, unfortunately, or
perhaps necessarily, the best are difficult.

bc






Jane Jackson wrote:

Concerning the firing of Jeff Schmidt, PhD physicist & copy editor of
PHYSICS TODAY (Fwd: Physicist fired for writing book; posted on Aug. 24.):

I want to understand the situation before I commit myself to any action. So
I visited <http://disciplined-minds.com>. I copied and pasted the following
3 letters from people who know Jeff. (Excerpts are posted here; several
more letters & newspaper articles are at the web site.). fyi - Jane
Jackson
******************************
21 June 2000
To: Marc Brodsky, Executive Director
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse
College Park, Maryland 20740

Dear Dr. Brodsky:
We were dismayed to learn of the recent dismissal
of Jeff Schmidt, who had been an articles editor
at Physics Today magazine for over 19 years.
As former employees of the magazine,
we urge you to reconsider your decision.

As we understand it, Jeff was fired after the
publication of his book, Disciplined Minds,
and in particular after AIP managers heard about
the book's opening lines: "This book is stolen.
Written in part on stolen time, that is."
According to Jeff's supervisor, Stephen Benka,
this intentionally provocative statement
proved that Jeff was not "fully engaged"
at the magazine.

Under different circumstances, we might find some
humor in the fact that Jeff's declaration,
obviously made for dramatic effect,
would create such a stir. But there's much more at
stake here: you have chosen to deprive Jeff of his
livelihood. We take deep exception to that.

... We have all worked with Jeff, and we know him
to be a talented and conscientious editor. While
at Physics Today, we benefited from his camaraderie,
support, and goodideas. Authors who worked with Jeff,
as well as PT staff members themselves, will tell
you that Jeff performed his duties with admirable skill
and efficiency. He is a clear, careful journalist,
and he has a deep interest in physics and in the
social issues surrounding it. What is more, he worked
hard to improve the work environment at the magazine.
Physics Today has been a better place for his presence.

It is our strong belief that you erred in firing Jeff.
We therefore urge you to give him his job back.
Respectfully,
Names Withheld
(Alexandria, Virginia)
(Southold, New York)
(Naples, Italy)
(Providence, Rhode Island)
(Paris, France)
(Bedminster, New Jersey)
(Portland, Oregon)
(Brooklyn, New York)
(Brookline, Massachusetts)
(San Francisco, California)
(Queens, New York)
(Brooklyn, New York)
(Brooklyn, New York)
(Bellport, New York)
(Brooklyn, New York)
(Burlington, Vermont)
***********************************
22 January 2001
Professor Frederick M. Dolan
Department of Rhetoric
University of California, Berkeley
Dear Dr. Brodsky:
Ordinarily, I would never think of intervening in cases
involving hiring and firing in organizations with which
I am unfamiliar. I appreciate the complexity of such
decisions and understand that they can be difficult for
outsiders to understand.

In the matter of Jeff Schmidt's dismissal from his position
at Physics Today, I feel that I must protest. I have known
Jeff for almost 25 years, and know him to be a man
whose integrity and skill are simply above reproach.
Whatever suggestions he may have had for Physics Today were,
I am certain, well worth considering. ... To suggest that
taking some time on one's job to work on a book (if that
is indeed what Jeff did) is a firing offense is, to put it
crudely, Neanderthal. I should think, on the contrary,
that Physics Today would be eager to take credit for
nurturing the author of an excellent and incisive inquiry
into the state of the discipline.

*********************
June 15, 2000
To: Randolph A. Nanna
Publisher
Physics Today
One Physics Ellipse
College Park, Maryland 20740
Dear Mr. Nanna:
What did you gain by firing Jeff Schmidt? I am
flummoxed by this question as I consider all
the things you damaged or lost: Physics Today's most
competent articles editor; the magazine's
perennially fragile collective morale; and,
most flagrantly, AIP's public image and credibility.
Let's take these one by one.

Unless another blue-pencil virtuoso of even greater
talent has joined the staff since my year-long stint
with the magazine in the early 1990s, Jeff was the
best articles editor you ever had or are likely
to have. (I've spent more hours than I care to count
doing the same thing, so I know whereof I speak.) Not
only does he edit with an all-too-rare technical
precision, he has an uncanny ability to coax even
the most prickly of authors toward clarity and
coherence. Titles and hubris do not cow him,
and he is doggedly but politely persistent. Ask any
of the hundreds of authors who have benefited from
his patient -- dare I use the word -- professionalism.
...

If misuse of company time is the principal crime
for which Jeff has been tried and convicted, then
I can assure you that -- during the time I worked in
the same office -- he was far from the most
egregious offender. Others must come forward on
their own, but I certainly can speak for myself:
not only did I spend time researching and writing
a weekly column for a major daily newspaper while
sitting at my desk, the staff spent a fair amount of
time discussing the topics I chose. It was no secret.
I did every scrap of work that was given to me as soon
as it was given to me. But I reclaimed the time left
over as my own.
...
Sincerely,
Marlowe Hood
Editor, Agence France Presse
Maitre de Conference, French Press Institute (Sorbonne)
55bis Quai de Valmy, 75010 Paris, France

cc: Marc H. Brodsky, James H. Stith
********************************

Jane Jackson, Co-Director, Modeling Instruction Program
Box 871504, Dept.of Physics & Astronomy,ASU,Tempe,AZ 85287
480-965-8438/fax:965-7331 <http://modeling.asu.edu>