The dangling status of embattled Penn State Altoona integrative arts professor Nona Gerard was resolved Monday, with the tenured professor officially fired from the university.

The decision, OK'd by Penn State President Graham Spanier, comes two weeks after the Standing Joint Committee on Tenure initially recommended her removal. Spanier was simply the final say in the matter. Gerard was fired for "grave misconduct" and "failure to perform," two charges levied against her by Penn State Altoona Dean William Cale. However, the extent of Gerard's "grave misconduct" has never been elaborated upon by Penn State officials.

The case, settled from a university standpoint, appears as though it will have long legs. Gerard plans on filing a federal lawsuit against the university on the grounds of gender discrimination and a violation of her freedom of speech. The entire mess surrounding Gerard's firing is startling. Gerard's dismissal creates a dangerous precedent at Penn State, where professors will seemingly have to watch what they can and cannot say within an academic setting. Otherwise, professors -- tenured or not -- run the risk of termination.

Where does this leave the university? From what little information that's been revealed from Penn State's end, Gerard was fired for making critical statements against parts of Penn State's integrative arts department. Again, that's it, as far as we know. If that is the case, why was a tenured professor with a strong student devotion and respected track record in the department not allowed to offer criticism? Shouldn't Gerard -- and all professors -- be allowed to disapprove of certain aspects of a program in the name of bringing change and improvement to said program?

Apparently not.

There's sure to be more to the story than is being said on both ends. But regardless, Gerard's firing may have a devastating effect on free speech at Penn State. Will professors have to chill their speech so as to not come under fire from an administration that does not welcome criticism? It's a sobering thought. Gerard certainly was well-liked by her students, as shown by their decision not to participate in the campus' production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

There are still a lot of questions here, and Penn State must address them immediately -- for the sake of its professors, for the sake of its students and for the sake of free speech.