The University of New Hampshire sent a letter Friday (September 7) to the banned chair of the biochemistry and molecular biology department, saying that he can be reinstated but no longer as the chair of the department, a faculty member in the department just informed The Scientist.

As I reported in July, John Collins, who has been chair of the department for two years, was banned from campus on June 29, a day after kicking a trash can, yelling and making threats about another faculty member, Stacia Sower.

The letter came after an August 20 meeting between the university administration and Collins during which he presented several dozen affidavits from other faculty members regarding incidents each had had with Sower. Collins threatened to file a case and present the affidavits in federal court if the university did not reinstate him, apologize for their actions against him, and pay for all his legal fees.

In addition to losing the position of chair of the department, Collins would be required to write a formal letter of apology to the university provost and Sower, take an anger management class, and maintain a letter in his personal academic file outlining the incident.

Collins has confirmed this information but declined giving a formal quote until he has consulted with his lawyer.

Look for a complete updated news story soon...