Pubdate: Mon, 17 Jan 2000 Source: Peak, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2000 Peak Publications Society Contact: 8888 University Dr., Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6 Canada Feedback: http://www.peak.sfu.ca/Feedback.HTML Forum: http://www.peak.sfu.ca/ Author: Jorge Barrera, The Martlet, UVIC (CUP) Note: Peak, The - Simon Fraser University's student newspaper UVIC PROF CAUGHT GROWING WEED IS STILL FIGHTING A University of Victoria professor who was convicted of growing marijuana is waiting to hear if she can keep her job. On Friday, January 7, on the twelth floor of the Harbour Towers Hotel, the arbitration hearing on the fate of Professor Jean Veevers wrapped up late in the afternoon. However, no decision was reached on whether the tenured professor will ever stand behind a podium at UVic again. Veevers has been suspended with pay since January 1999, after UVic President David Strong reviewed evidence from her 1998 Supreme Court case that pointed to her involving a student in illegal activities. The Sociology teacher fought Strong's recommendation that she be dismissed and invoked the arbitration process outlined in the university's tenure document. Veevers' lawyer, Mel Hunt, told Canadian University Press last year that Strong's accusation wouldn't stand. "With respect to [Veevers's] involvement with the student, this is not just cause for her dismissal as it had nothing to do with her normal duties as a professor," said Hunt. Although Hunt now refuses to comment on the Veevers's case, he says he still stands by last year's comments. Veevers pleaded guilty to drug charges on October 26, 1998, and is currently serving a conditional sentence in her home for one year. Bruce Kilpatrick, director of UVic Communications, said there won't be a decision for several months. "The decision will come well before the deadline of June 30," said Kilpatrick. Thomas Cleary, president of UVic's Faculty Association, also expects a decision in the near future. "Everything has been done according to what the tenure document says," he said. If the panel decides there is no just cause for dismissal, Veevers will return to the university. If the panel decides against Veevers the case will go before the University's Board of Governors. According to University regulations, the arbitration panel is chosen by the president of the Faculty Association and the university president. The two panellists then choose a third independent member to chair the panel. The panel consists of University of British Columbia professors Herbert Mclean and James McIntyre, as well as Vancouver labour affairs lawyer Heather Lang, who is the acting chair. The hearings - held last August and between January 5-7, 2000 - stem from a December 11, 1998 recommendation from UVic president Strong to the Board of Governors. Strong said Veevers should be dismissed on the grounds that she offered to pay the tuition of a UVic student in exchange for help with illegal activities. The RCMP raided Veevers's home on April 18, 1997, seizing 8.6 kilograms of marijuana and 122 marijuana plants. Veevers pleaded guilty to charges of cultivating marijuana and possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. She was given a $15,000 fine, 60 hours of community work and a yearlong conditional sentence. Veevers will continue to be suspended from teaching with pay until a final decision is reached. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea