This is a story about an exceptional, award-winning, and well-respected professor, Dr. Michael Jay Shively, and how the very university he had dedicated his career to, Utah Valley University, waged a protracted and prolonged investigation against him, based on false allegations, without due process, and resulting in his tragic suicide.
Dr. Shively was a tenured professor who had taught anatomy and physiology at UVU for 27 years; He had served as a President of the Utah Valley University Faculty Senate and Chair of the Department of Life Sciences.
Dr. Shively’s life was suddenly and irreversibly derailed on March 25th, 2019 due to the gross negligence on the part of UVU and the intentional conspiracy and false accusations by a fellow associate professor, Sarah J. Flood.
UVU’s own detailed investigative report after twenty-five (25) interviews provides extensive evidence and admissions that discredited the false claims of any “serious offense affecting the public interest.”
Over 20 UVU professors have criticized UVU’s handling of the Shively matter and openly expressed concern for how UVU handled this even before Dr Shively’s death.
They saw the shape of something that seemed wrong: a protracted investigation of a tenured professor without due process. They questioned why suspension was warranted and why Dr Shively’s classroom practices were under scrutiny.
Unlike typical cases fighting governmental immunity where the relationship between victim and perpetrator has not been established, Dr. Shively had been revered by students, faculty, alumni and administrators for 27 years, making it even more tragic that the very institution to which Shively had dedicated his life, was responsible for ending it as well.
In this INSIDER EXCLUSIVE INVESTIGATIVE SPECIAL, we “Go Behind the Headlines” in ““JUSTICE IN AMERICA – Dr Michael Jay Shively’s Story” to meet with Steve Sumsion, Managing Ptr of Sumsion Business Law, and Dr Shively’s family and colleagues to get to the truth.
As we take you inside today’s legal system, examining Steve’s strategies, and his client’s thoughts, and show you the relief and vindication for shattered lives and holding those responsible for justice.
The compassion, warmth, love, and determination of the human spirit found within in this story is neither imagined nor contrived. It is truly a personal crusade and telling journey of what it means to seek justice in an American Courtroom.
You can contact Steve Sumsion at 801.375.2830 www.businesslawutah.com