But in 2008, Dr. Bishop seemed to be riding high. She and her husband had developed an automated cell incubator that was supposed to keep finicky cells, like nerve cells, alive longer and make experiments easier. The university, which would share in any proceeds, was trying to market the device, and the university president, David B. Williams, predicted that it would “change the way biological and medical research is conducted,” according to The Huntsville Times. In the winter of 2009, a smiling Dr. Bishop was shown on the cover of The Huntsville R & D Report.

Prodigy Biosystems, where Mr. Anderson now works, ultimately raised $1.25 million to develop the product.

In March 2009, however, Dr. Bishop received word that her bid for tenure had been denied because her research and publication record were not strong, colleagues said. Such denials are rare, faculty members said, because the university reviews tenure-track professors annually, alerting them to areas that need improvement.

Even though faculty members, including her department chairman, counseled her to look for another job, Dr. Bishop appealed the decision.

“Her attitude was not, ‘I’m going to have to go find another job,’ ” said Eric Seemann, an assistant professor of psychology. “It was more like, ‘When are these idiots going to clear this up?’ ”

She lobbied for a revote in the department, badgering people for support, her colleagues said. They disputed an assertion by her husband after the shooting that Dr. Bishop had won the appeals process and the provost had overruled the decision. The appeals process identified only a minor procedural problem, which was remedied, they said. Last November, a university spokesman said, her appeal was finally denied.

Increasingly expressing concern about her family’s finances, Dr. Bishop hired a lawyer, her husband said, and filed a discrimination complaint against the university. He said she also began going to a firing range. In the weeks leading up to the shooting, he told reporters, he had gone with her to the range once. He said she claimed to have borrowed the gun she used.

Her lawyer said Friday that she did not remember what happened next. But the police and witnesses say that on Feb. 12, Dr. Bishop went to a routine faculty meeting with a plan. And a loaded handgun.