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A Saskatchewan math professor who anonymously skewered his colleagues on the Internet has lost a bid to get his job back.

A university arbitration committee has upheld a recommendation by University of Saskatchewan president Peter MacKinnon to fire math professor Stephen Berman.

Berman rated and posted negative comments about faculty on the popular website RateMyProfessors.com.

Berman, a faculty member for more than three decades, declined comment, as did representatives of the university and faculty association.

The committee concluded Berman misrepresented himself as a student on the site and "maligned" his colleagues. It argued his conduct was dishonest, unprofessional and unacceptable.

The university added that Berman used the site to "critique his colleagues not on the basis of their professional accomplishments, but rather on the basis of their support for his political views."

Berman, who earlier admitted to posting the ratings, said his actions were the result of stress from tension in the department of math and statistics. He said they were a form of "venting."

Friction in the department reportedly began to escalate in 2001, two years after the appointment of a new department head. Some in the department were unhappy with the new leader and outside consultants said past unresolved conflicts were hampering department operations.

Berman was suspended by MacKinnon in 2003 following a review into the postings on the website, which allows students to anonymously rate their professors.

The investigation began months earlier, in November 2002, when a professor approached the university's manager of Internet security about ratings and comments about himself and his wife that had been posted on the site. Others complained as well.

The postings were tracked to Berman's office computer and he was suspended.

The university would eventually accuse Berman of failing to co-operate with the investigation and said he didn't take responsibility or show remorse for his actions.

The faculty association, while accepting that Berman be disciplined, replied that any allegation of failure to co-operate was "baseless" and made to inflame the allegations against Berman.

"Dr. Berman made a significant mistake," the association said. "He let his emotions get the better of him when he ought to have found a better way of channeling these concerns. He deserves to be punished, and has been punished."

The association noted Berman tried to remove the comments from the site, apologized and sought psychological help.

Considering the "long and troubled history of the department [and] its significant interpersonal conflict that has largely gone unchecked for years, dismissal is an excessive and unfair response and ought not be upheld," it said.