An investigation into the management of the Virginia Quarterly Review magazine - ordered last Thursday by University President Teresa A. Sullivan - is underway in response to the suicide of Kevin Morrissey, the publication's 52-year-old managing editor.
Morrissey, who shot himself July 30, reportedly suffered from depression, but the circumstances surrounding his death have been controversial, especially because some of Morrissey's co-workers and his sister Maria have reported a hostile environment within the journal's offices.
Maria Morrissey called Ted Genoways, the publication's editor, a "bully boss" in an Aug. 23 interview with "The Today Show."
Sullivan, however, has stated that "conducting this review does not in any way presume that any members of the VQR staff have been involved in improper conduct."
Before his death, Morrissey reportedly contacted the University's Human Resources department to air his grievances about Genoways, who created a "toxic environment" for Kevin to work in, according to a "Today Show" interview with Waldo Jaquith, the publication's web editor.
Although the department responded to Morrissey's calls, no action ever resulted, Jaquith said in the interview.
"Ted's treatment of Kevin in the last two weeks of his life was just egregious; it ate Kevin up," he said.
Nevertheless, in an Aug. 12 written statement in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Genoways denied having abused Morrissey.
Morrissey's "long history of depression caused him trouble throughout his career," Genoways stated.
No action has been taken against Genoways, but Sullivan hopes the review will "provide a factual basis for understanding this workplace and deciding what corrective actions, if any, the University should undertake."
Sullivan plans for the audit, which is under the responsibility of Chief Audit Executive Barbara Deily, to be completed by the end of September but cautioned that the timetable could change since "it is more important that this review be done well than that it be done quickly"
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