VQR’s Ted Genoways Exonerated

Ted Genoways has been exonerated from Kevin Morrissey's suicide by a University audit.

Of course, the audit might be merely trying to cover the university's backside for lawsuit purposes. The overall conclusion is given in clinical terms:

Overall, there were several institutional notifications of problems within VQR, but no specific allegations of bullying or harassment prior to July 30th. Earlier notifications this year consisted mostly of concerns about organizational structure and untimely management communication styles; more recent concerns encompassed a failure by the Editor to follow institutional procedures in a variety of areas. There were reports through the years of the Editor not being courteous or respectful with some contributors and colleagues, as well as problems with certain employees, but none ever seemed to rise to the level of a serious, on-going concern. The reports were mostly viewed by others as conflicts between a creative, innovative manager and persons who did not share the Editor’s aspirations. [emphasis mine]

It's curious though that the report is written in such a detached fashion, as though there were no proper names or actual human beings involved. It's so scientifically neutral it appears bland. It's like something out of Kafka, where no one has names, only roles or job titles, which I suppose makes sense, given that Kafka critiques bureaucratic culture, and the university has fully embraced bureaucratic culture over the last few decades. (The Daily Progress argues that audits like this are vague "for confidentiality reasons"

But all this aside, I hope VQR can move forward and start publishing again. It's taken quite a knock, but I'd hate for this suicide to be the haymaker that puts the journal out cold.