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.
Patrick Louchouarn, the vice president for academic affairs and chief academic officer, told KPRC that the university will not necessarily stand by the failing grades Horwitz planned to hand out. University officials said the department head will take over teaching the strategic management class.
“None of them have failed until the end of the class, meaning the only reason a student would fail is because he or she hasn’t performed the actual, you know, with the expectations for that particular class,” Louchouarn said. University officials have not yet responded to CNN’s request for comment.