Parents complained about CCU professor being drunk in class before DUI arrest
Numerous parents complained to Coastal Carolina University about their child’s professor being intoxicated during class prior to that professor’s recent DUI arrest, a police report shows.
Florence Eliza Glaze, 61, was arrested Aug. 21 by campus police. The longtime history professor was seen being led out of Britain Hall in handcuffs in a video posted to social media with the caption “Teach showed up hammered.”
CCU suspended Glaze pending an ongoing investigation, and her classes have been reassigned to other faculty members, according to university spokeswoman Tania Bougebrayel.
Campus police first responded to Britain Hall around 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 21 for a report of a possibly intoxicated professor, and police met with Christopher Gunn, chair of the university’s history department, and Lori Cox, a human resources employee, according to the police report. Cox told police she had received complaints from student’s parents about Glaze possibly being drunk during class, but Glaze was no longer in the building at the time.
Police were called back to Britain Hall around 1:40 p.m., and Gunn told officers he had witnessed Glaze return, exit her vehicle, lean on her car, then stumble through R Parking Lot and into the building, the report states. Gunn then escorted Glaze out of her classroom, and police observed her wobbling and unable to maintain her balance.
While police held Glaze upright, an officer smelled alcohol on her breath, and the professor slurred her speech while responding to questions, according to the police report.
The officer notes in the report that she did not observe Glaze driving, nor did video surveillance footage capture her driving. But after administering Glaze a Standard Field Sobriety Test, the officer received orders from her chief to charge Glaze with DUI, the report states. Witness statements were collected to confirm Glaze drove onto CCU property.
Glaze refused to give a breath sample after arriving at J. Reuben Long Detention Center, the report adds. She was released on $992 bond, and her charges remain pending.
CCU police also arrested Glaze in February and charged her with driving under a suspended license and failure to return license plate and registration upon loss of insurance, according to online court records, which show both those charges as disposed with a “not guilty bench trial” designation.
News reports show Glaze was also arrested during June 2021 and charged with DUI, disobeying a police officer, and having an open container of beer or wine in a motor vehicle. Those charges no longer appear in online court records.
