The Ohio University professor detained by the Israeli military after it intercepted a flotilla headed for Gaza on a humanitarian mission last week has been removed from the course he was teaching.
Tom Hayes is a documentary filmmaker and associate professor in the school of film. He returned to Ohio on Sunday.
Hayes told WOSU that he was removed Monday from a master's course in film editing he was teaching.
Hayes said the university told him it did so because he violated policy by providing streamed lectures in his absence instead of teaching in person.
"Here's what's so ironic about this. It's the students who lose here," he said.
In a statement, Ohio University said it has an obligation to serve students by delivering courses that offer regular interactions with faculty.
"After learning last week that Professor Hayes had independently informed students taking his in-person, master’s-level course that he would be absent for an unknown duration, and that his pre-recorded lectures would be available online, the University designated a new instructor of record for the course," Ohio University spokesman Dan Pittman said in a statement. "This newly assigned instructor of record resumed in-person instruction this week and will serve for the remainder of the semester."
Hayes said he can't imagine someone stepping into the position over a weekend.
"This is a core curriculum course I've developed over 23 years," Hayes said.
Hayes, 70, had already planned to retire in December. He started working at the university in 2002.
He said the university could have placed a substitute in his class if officials were worried about his absence, or notified him earlier that he was violating policy "rather than this precipitous move."
Hayes was part of a nine-boat flotilla carrying food and medical aid to hospitals in Gaza.
