Tag Archives: bruce fleming

Professor Sues US Naval Academy

Bruce Fleming, a civilian English professor at the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, has filed a lawsuit claiming he was denied a pay raise due to an unjust reprimand he received in 2014:

Attorneys for Bruce Fleming said Thursday that the professor was denied merit pay and $7,000 in summer funding based on a 2014 reprimand. It stemmed from a 2013 classroom discussion, when Fleming prompted his students to consider the academy’s sexual assault program and the potentially one-sided burdens it put on men, at a time when the academy was part of the national debate over how to stop sexual assault in the military.

Fleming asserts his words were protected under the Constitution. For its part, Annapolis Read more

USNA Professor Criticizes Applicant Stats

The US Naval Academy recently publicized its pace to set a record for the number of applicants.  The US military academies have a notoriously low acceptance rate, an indicator of the competitive nature of selection.

Au contraire, says Annapolis English professor Bruce Fleming.

Fleming, a fairly “frequent critic” of his employer, filed a FOIA to determine how the Naval Academy counts applicants.  He says the Academy overstates and artificially inflates the number of people who actually try to get into Annapolis.

The academy counts as “applicants” people who have not completed an application but have shown an interest Read more

Naval Academy Professor Settles Complaint

Bruce Fleming has had a long — and tumultuous — career as a professor of English at the US Naval Academy.

In 2009 he wrote an Op-Ed claiming the USNA inappropriately lowers its standards to increase its racial diversity, a claim he has made elsewhere.  He claims he was denied a “standard” pay raise as a result.  He filed a complaint which has now been settled “to the satisfaction of both parties,” according to the Academy.

Fleming has criticized the existence of the military institutions, complaining they create mediocre officers and “promulgate” a “conservative worldview” that includes “religion.”  Despite such complaints, he seems content to take a paycheck from the Navy to teach there, as he has for more than Read more

The US Military Academies and Mediocrity

Bruce Fleming, a 23-year professor of English at the US Naval Academy, publishes a fairly scathing critique of the military academy construct at the New York Times (oddly timed as the Academies host their graduations this week).  He blasts the cost, the apparent lack of unique ability, preferential treatment of football players, the apparent trend of “unofficial affirmative action,” and the “backdoor” for less-qualified students in the preparatory school.

Fleming has long been a commentator on, and largely a critic of, the institution that employs him (and he has received some grief for it).  He questioned Read more