Michelle Herrick

An SDSU chemistry instructor was fired after he was arrested April 5 for violating probation.

Roger Traxinger, who taught Chemistry 108 and some laboratory courses, should have reported for a sixth-month jail sentence almost three weeks earlier on March 15. He was arrested in November 2002 and charged with driving under the influence and fleeing a police officer. Traxinger was convicted of both charges in December 2003. Traxinger was on a nine-month teaching contract at SDSU that begin in fall 2003.

Traxinger will be jailed an extra month because he violated his probation, said a Lyon County parole officer. Traxinger won’t get work release because law enforcement officers say he tested positive for marijuana on the day of his arrest. He is serving a seven-month jail sentence.

April 2 was the last day he taught an SDSU class, a Chemistry 108 student said. The class and his labs are now being taught by a new instructor, said Chemistry Department Head James Rice.

He said the arrest was only a part of why Traxinger was fired.