A professor has been suspended from his job after his students did a deep dive into his past.
Michigan State University (MSU) teacher Brendan Doyle was labelled as 'erratic' by his students, sparking them to look into his history.
The young sleuths went on to find that Doyle appeared to be a real-life Walter White in a Breaking Bad-like scenario where their teacher had previously ran a meth lab.
Boyle had been busted back in March 2020 for running clandestine lab while he was then a professor at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana.
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He was charged with 'creation or operation of a clandestine laboratory for the unlawful manufacture of a controlled dangerous substance', according to a release shared by Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre at the time.
Doyle went on to plead guilty in January 2021 to the charges and was sentenced to 180 days behind bars - but only served 90.
Lafourche Parish sheriff's office later confirmed to student-run newspaper The State that, as per its records, Doyle 'was found guilty and served a sentence and was released'.
But Doyle's criminal past was missed by MSU in their checks and he was hired to teach an anatomy and physiology course in the Kinesiology department in recent weeks, New York Post reports.
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It was only when students became concerned about his behaviour that they started looking into their professor and discovered his Breaking Bad-esque background, discovering his mugshot and related articles online.
"When he yelled at us as if we were a high school class for talking, I just thought it was kind of unnecessary; like, when that happens in other classes at MSU, the professors don’t really make a big deal out of it; they just keep teaching the lecture," student Mackenzie Allbee said to Fox 17.
"It was more distracting when he yelled at us than the actual talking."
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Allbee went on to say that the students were shocked and confused as to how Doyle ended up being hired in light of his criminal background.
“Even if his involvement was minimal, how did this happen? How did they look past it, or not know at all?” she further questioned.
Apparently it took some time for the students to find the information on their professor because his MSU profile used the name 'B. Michael Doyle'.
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Doyle has since been placed on leave from the university.
MSU deputy spokesperson Dan Olsen has issued a statement to UNILAD that read: "While I am limited in what I can share on personnel matters, I can confirm that MSU conducted a background check for the faculty member consistent with its policies and procedures for all faculty and support staff at the university.
"That criminal background check did not reveal any criminal charges or criminal convictions.
"The employee was on a leave in September and as of Oct. 9 he is not an employee of the university."
Niamh Shackleton