Last week, the administrative grievance committee found that the firings of two men from the IT department in August ' Tom Reid and Todd Acheson ' were without merit and recommended the university reinstate both of them with back pay.
The firings stemmed from the Moran Report, which blamed Reid and Acheson for the security breaches. The Moran Company, a supposedly independent party the university hired to investigate the network problems, has other contracts with the school. Its independence is questionable when taken into context its multiple dealings and the university's likelihood of firing convenient scapegoats in the wake of a larger problem is too probable.
The administration would do well to follow the recent recommendation and offer Reid and Acheson their jobs, and repay them for the time off. The grievance committee's report states that Reid and Acheson did what they could to prevent a security breach within the confines of their job and that they were not directly responsible for it happening.
Larger problems need larger solutions, and two competent IT employees being fired will not fix anything. But maybe bringing them back will.
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Unjust firings in IT department reflect scapegoating after security breaches
