The Homebound Symphony

A majority of the school’s astronomy faculty, which Dr. Marcy has been a member of since 1999, said in a letter posted online Monday that he should go. “We believe that Geoff Marcy cannot perform the functions of a faculty member,” said the letter, which carried 23 signatures.

But the university administration, which placed him on probation over the summer after an investigation without announcing the decision, defended its approach, saying it left Dr. Marcy on a very tight leash and vulnerable to immediate dismissal if he violates his probation. “The university has imposed real consequences on Professor Geoff Marcy by establishing a zero-tolerance policy regarding future behavior,” said the statement, issued Tuesday by the office of Janet Broughton, Berkeley’s vice provost for the faculty.

Geoffrey Marcy’s Berkeley Astronomy Colleagues Call for His Dismissal – The New York Times. I think it’s essential to note that the university imposed no consequences on Marcy. He did not lose his tenured position or even his endowed chair; his salary was not reduced, his role at the university was in no way changed. He was told that if he persists in the same behavior in the future there will be consequences — which is a very different thing. Whether you agree or disagree with Berkeley’s decision, the administration has not described that decision honestly.