Kudos to Mary Gilchrist, former director of the University Hygienic Laboratory, for suing Acting President Gary Fethke and Vice President of Research Meredith Hay for firing her for spurious reasons. "Passion" for excellence is no reason to fire someone. If there is a protecting the whistle-blower law that comes into play here, I hope that it's enforced and enforced broadly. ... Mary Gilchrist's lawsuit has a lot to do with protecting the public health of Iowans. While she is advocating a change in laboratory governance, she also advocates for a strong affiliation with the University of Iowa for resources and also to provide competitive salaries and university benefits to existing staff at the UHL.