A Gannon University criminal justice instructor whose exploits as a CIA interrogator in Iraq were featured in a Newsweek story Oct. 7 is no longer employed by the university.
The Newsweek article was focused on David Martine, a retired CIA agent, and his involvement with interrogations as the former chief of the CIA’s Detention Elicitation Cell in Iraq.
Martine began teaching at Gannon in 2011 and previously taught at Mercyhurst University. He resigned his position on Oct. 9, two days after the publishing of the Newsweek article.
University President Keith Taylor, Ph.D., said that Martine was not asked nor was he pushed – he voluntarily resigned from the university.
“We called a meeting to discuss issues with Mr. Martine,” Taylor said. “He made the comment that he was willing to part ways.
“He was not coerced, he was not threatened – there was no other influence pressure, there was a discussion about issues, and he said, ‘I am going to part ways.’”
Taylor said he was not in attendance at the meeting, but two Gannon employees were and they accepted Martine’s resignation.
Martine said he had no desire to resign, but agreed to do so because he didn’t want to be in a place he didn’t feel wanted. He added that he was disappointed he was not given the opportunity to say goodbye to his students.
“I was shocked,” Martine said. “I planned to stay there [Gannon] for many years and if you talk to some of my students, I promised to be at their graduations – to celebrate their success, I was going nowhere. I had absolutely no desire to break my contract, especially in the middle of a semester.”
Katelyn Gourley, a freshman criminal justice major and a former student of Martine, said Martine’s resignation came as a shock to her.
“He was such a great professor and someone I really respected,” Gourley said. “He always came to class with a smile on his face. Everyone I have talked to, along with myself, misses him.
“It was just so sudden.”
BECKY HILKER
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