Thanks!
It was a classic example of "adding insult to injury."
The dept. head definitely thought that he was "protecting" my wife by substituting the "non-political" reason for her resigning. In actual fact, he was defaming her (by claiming "lack of interest" in her classes rather than "irreconcilable moral objections" on her part to the university's ethically dubious requirement that she bark "Ver are your papers?" every day).
Regards,
I hope she finds something better soon. It sounds like that school is run by especially inept bureaucrats.
Sue for defamation!