A professor at Texas A&M Galveston said in an email to his strategic management students that they were a disgrace, that they lacked maturity — and that he would fail the entire class.
Irwin Horwitz, an instructional associate professor in the university’s department of maritime administration, told CNN affiliate KPRC that he had finally reached a breaking point.
“Enough was enough,” Horwitz said. “It became apparent that they couldn’t do just some of the most simple and basic things that they should’ve been able to do at that point.”
In the email to students, KPRC reported, Horwitz said: “I have seen cheating, been told by students to ‘chill out,’ ‘get out of my space,’ ‘go back and teach’ refuse to leave the room after being told to do so following inappropriate conduct, called a ‘f*****g moron’ several times by a student to my face…” Horwitz added that students spread hurtful rumors about him, his wife and colleagues, and that he felt the need for police protection in class.
John Shaw, a senior at Texas A&M Galveston and student in Horwitz’s class, told KPRC he was worried about the job he has lined up after graduation.
“Just ridiculous, because, I mean, I had never had a problem in the class,” Shaw said. “I thought I had done pretty well, done pretty well on the first test and everything else that’s going on. I get an email saying I am going to get an F in the class, and just kind of — it was overwhelming.”
Texas A&M Galveston is a part of the Texas A&M University System; its more than 2,000 students focus on marine and maritime studies.
University officials said they can’t comment on the issues raised in Horwitz’s email. A department head will take over teaching the strategic management class; Horwitz was not removed from the class, but chose to leave it, officials said.
Patrick Louchouarn, the vice president for academic affairs and chief academic officer, said Texas A&M Galveston will not necessarily stand by the failing grades Horwitz planned to hand out.
“The report that all students in this class will be failed is not correct,” Louchouarn, an associate provost with Texas A&M University, said in a statement. “Each student will receive an individual grade based upon work completed during the semester. There is no investigation of any class-wide cheating underway. The university is listening to concerns about this issue from students and faculty and will address them according to our policies.”
