What happened to Mike?

Everyone knew something was up Thursday, May 22, when Mike Savin failed to show up for class a second time in the same week. Having never missed a class the previous trimester, even when visibly ill, it was disconcerting to students. 


The fill in professors, Brigid Bacus and Marci Bailey, assured students that it would be okay and that Mike was just sick.

Students in Chemistry 222 found out May 29, a full week later and past the deadline to drop with a “W," that Savin had resigned. The exact why of his resignation was never articulated. Rumors abound as to why a well liked and respected instructor would simply leave three weeks before the end of the term. 


Had students been told the day Savin resigned, that he had resigned, it would have been possible for any in the class to drop with a W if they so chose. However, since Backus and Bailey did not inform the students of Savin's resignation until after the deadline to drop, such an option was precluded.

Bailey claimed that she could make no comment on the situation and Backus claimed to know nothing other than that she was filling in for Savin for the rest of the term. 

Numerous students were unwilling to make any comments on the record for fear of reprisals from the chemistry department. Students expressed everything from fear of being personally targeted for merely speaking positively about Savin, to fear of the evening class as a whole being targeted to prove that Savin was not fulfilling his contractual obligations. 

One student who had no fear of speaking up was Gil South . Gil felt that Savin was an excellent instructor and that the chemistry department at LBCC would suffer from the loss. He reached out to Savin to let him know that he appreciated his service and time and that he were sorry that Savin would no longer be teaching at LBCC. He emphatically felt like blame for his departure should be placed on the department and not on Savin.

Instructor Savin also made no comment. Savin has taught high school chemistry, college chemistry, is currently an assistant at the Oregon State University chemistry department and tutors in the Mole Hole.






At a Glance


Professor leaves suddenly right before finals and no one is talking, not even the students.


 Mike Savins Linkedin profile

Mole Hole Schedule 

Linn Benton Chemistry Department