Czech university votes to dismiss dean who attended anti-government protests

The Academic Senate of Prague University of Economics (VŠE) Monday evening voted in favor of enabling VŠE rector Petr Dvořák to dismiss Miroslav Ševčík, the dean of the VŠE Faculty of Economics. 

The decision was motivated by concerns that Dvořák raised regarding Ševčík’s alleged damage to the school's reputation, which resulted from Ševčík’s attendance at an anti-government protest in March this year. Ševčík had been accused by authorities of attempting to remove the Ukrainian flag from the front of the National Museum. 

Twenty out of 26 senate members on Monday supported the motion, while six voted against it.

Ševčík vowed to defend himself if Rector Dvořák proceeds with his removal, stating that he would pursue legal action to challenge what he believes to be an unjust process. Ševčík argued that he is being targeted for assisting an injured person at the protest, rather than anti-Ukranian hate. 

Dvořák criticized Ševčík for participating in various anti-government rallies even before March 2023 incident and delivering speeches at some of them. Dvořák says that Ševčík’s behavior has "damaged the Economics Faculty’s reputation and led to its isolation from other departments."

According to Czech university regulations, a rector can dismiss a dean if they seriously fail to fulfill their duties or significantly harm the university's or faculty's interests. This requires prior approval from the academic senate of the respective faculty and the university's academic senate.

Petr Mazouch from the VŠE Faculty of Informatics and Statistics expressed strong support for the rector's actions, emphasizing that the academic community largely backs Dvořák efforts. Mazouch stated that all but one faculty had previously expressed disapproval of Ševčík’s actions.

Ševčík denied the allegations of damaging VŠE’s reputation, highlighting petitions and widespread support. A group of his supporters also stood outside VŠE’s building in Prague Monday. Jan Vondráček, deputy chairman of the university's Academic Senate and representative of the Faculty of Economics, also argued that the reasons for Ševčík’s dismissal were insufficient.

Despite Rector Dvorak's earlier call for Ševčík’s resignation, the dean refused to step down. After the Faculty of Economics' senate chose not to dismiss Sevcik in April, the rector initiated the dismissal process himself. A decision is set to be made imminently.