Professor among 4 staff fired in UNC academic fraud

North Carolina's flagship public university is trying to fire a senior professor, accepted the resignation of another faculty member and dismissed an academic counselor for athletes for their roles in the fraud scandal that rocked the school, campus officials said on Wednesday.

Steps to terminate University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill philosophy professor and former faculty leader Jeanette Boxill started on Oct 22, the same day that a scathing report into the cheating scandal was released, campus Chancellor Carol Folt said. Boxill is appealing Folt's decision, information that was released after a lawsuit by The Associated Press and nine other media organizations.

North Carolina's public records law requires state agencies, including public universities, to make employee records available. That includes records regarding their dismissal, suspension, or demotion. UNC - Chapel Hill officials had said the disclosure wasn't required until after an employee has finished appealing the decision, a process that could take years.