`MUZZLED': STEWART SAYS UNIVERSITY DIDN'T WANT HIM TO TALK

The former director of the Center for Earthquake Studies at Southeast Missouri State University says he's enjoying the quiet life and doesn't miss being labeled "that crazy earthquake guy."

David Stewart, who still teaches at the university, said the label cost him his job last year amid the hoopla surrounding the Iben Browning earthquake prediction for Dec. 3.

"When the media was calling me `that crazy earthquake guy,' the appropriate response would have been for (university officials) to stick up for me, whether they agreed with me or not," Stewart said Friday.

"But the university backed off. They got down on their hands and knees and begged forgiveness from the scientific community, and they put a muzzle on me."

Stewart was the sole seismologist to lend public support to Browning's forecast of the possibility of an earthquake on or around Dec. 3, 1990, along the New Madrid Fault. He was harshly criticized by scientists for his handling of the forecast. Many scientists maintained Browning's forecast had no merit.

On Dec. 11, he resigned from his position as center director. His resignation came on the heels of an announcement by Arch Johnston, the head of the Center for Earthquake Research and Information at Memphis State University, that the center had cut all ties with Stewart and the Center for Earthquake Studies at Southeast.

Johnston said Stewart was responsible for much of the earthquake hysteria in the region because he endorsed Browning's prediction.

University officials maintain Stewart resigned voluntarily. Art Wallhausen, assistant to the president at Southeast, said Saturday that the university had not changed its position since last year; that Stewart's resignation was his own idea.

In announcing his resignation at a news conference last year, Stewart stated his connection to the center could have negative effects.

"For that reason, and for my own personal reasons, I have asked for assignment to a full-time teaching position," the statement read.

Much attention before Dec. 3 was focused on earthquake preparedness. Stewart was interviewed by national media as an expert on the subject.

But as Dec. 3 approached, Stewart and Browning became the subject of massive criticism, being blamed for everything from scared children to a slump in real estate sales.

Stewart said before the criticism began that he was pushed into the media spotlight by university officials, who relished the national attention he brought to the university and the earthquake center.

"I was just doing my job. I tried to state the facts as best I could," he said.

Stewart said he and Browning never sought publicity over the Dec. 3 prediction. Stewart maintains Browning was "just laying out some facts" and did not make a "prediction."

"I never sought that publicity. Browning didn't either. We felt like we were being pursued," he said. "It was unbelievable."

But when scientists began to denounce Browning and Stewart, he said the university "broke their promise" to protect his professional right to speak. Stewart said he was not told he had to resign, but that it was "made attractive" to him.

"They made it clear that if I resigned it would get me off the hook. I wouldn't have to talk to anyone; I wouldn't have to answer my phone," he said.

Stewart said Browning never meant for his claims to be perceived as an earthquake prediction. He maintains that Browning, who has since died, was a "genius."

"He was one of the top minds of this century. I spent time enough with him to know that," Stewart said.

A climatologist and business consultant from New Mexico, Browning claimed there was a 50-50 chance of a quake measuring at least 6.5 on the Richter scale occurring along the New Madrid Fault around Dec. 3. He also claimed to have accurately predicted other earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, using a process based on tidal forces.

Stewart maintains tidal forces are connected to the occurrence of earthquakes.

"I'll guarantee when they finally figure out earthquake predictions and get the factors together, one of the terms in that equation is going to be tidal forces," he said. "It may not be the dominant term, but it's not a zero term."

Stewart said Browning was misunderstood.

"My position was that Dr. Browning was not to be ignored. My position was, let's look at this in an objective way and take it for what it's worth," he said.

The Center for Earthquake studies at Southeast has been scaled back in the past year, Wallhausen said. The center now has one employee, Linda Dillman.

Before the center was scaled back, it operated on a $213,000 budget, according to university figures. Only $40,600 of that was university funds; the rest was in state and federal emergency management grants. Of the $40,600 in university funds, $35,000 paid Stewart's salary.

But state funding was cut by about $65,000 in May. As a result, Wallhausen said, the center is focusing on an informational mission, it's original purpose.

Stewart said he's focusing on teaching and writing books. His 10th book will be published in May, he said. It's called "The Fault Finder's Guide" and describes places in Southeast Missouri where evidence of earthquakes can be found.

Stewart said the amount of earthquake preparedness completed last year will have long-lasting positive effects.

He said, according to three sets of scientific data, there is a chance of an earthquake measuring at least 6.0 along the New Madrid Fault in the next 10 years.

"Thousands of people's lives are going to be saved because of what happened last year," he said.

For now, Stewart said he will concentrate on teaching and writing books. He said he is still concerned about the possibility of an earthquake in the area, but, "There is a lot more to life than earthquakes; we have to be balanced."

Stewart said he regrets the fact he is no longer director of the Center for Earthquake Studies. But the fact that earthquake preparedness was furthered as a result of Browning's claims is satisfying, he said.

"Everybody who tries to do something that they believe in will pay a price," he said. "I accept that."