A broader context

These types of academic and administrative disputes are actually not at all uncommon at universities (or business, or politics, etc.).  For example, see:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/23/bob-mcdonnell-uva_n_1621229.html

On the other hand, we must always remember that academic disputes like these are so vicious because the stakes are so low.

Here’s a broader perspective on UVA.

http://religionandpolitics.org/2012/06/21/what-can-we-learn-from-uva/