| Friday,
March 3, 2000 Well, the awful blotch on my face isn't
melanoma. It's what Dr. Phelps calls a "barnacle", and it will
go away now that they froze its buns off.
The following is LONG, and was put up in good faith. Later I got
another letter with different information. It illustrates the principle
that you ought not hear just one side of a cause before making up your
mind. To skip over it all, click here.
I got the following from a reliable source, so I have no reason to
suppose it is anything but what it appear, but I have not seen any other
references at all.:
The account below speaks for itself. But see
also "Lingua Franca," March 00, pp 6-7, for an account of how
"academic freedom" is understood at TAMU's "George Bush
School of Government and Public Service."
It all kinda makes me wish that TAMU's
administration had been standing atop that pile of logs during that
infamous demonstration of Aggie structural engineering prowess.
NL
---------- Forwarded message ----------
>From "Shara Pradhan" <spradhanprinceton.edu>
Shara Pradhan ’01 Princeton University 67 Spelman Hall Princeton, NJ
08544 (609) 258-7201 spradhan@princeton.edu
February 26, 2000 To Whom It May Concern:
My name is Shara Pradhan. I am a junior at
Princeton University. I write this letter with a sense of great urgency,
in the hope of saving my Dad, Dr. Dhiraj K. Pradhan, from going to jail in
less than two weeks.
He was a tenured professor, world-renowned
in computer science, at Texas A&;M University. Within a period of three
years he has been illegally searched, secretly audited, suspended without
due process, lied to by the University administration, and wrongfully
dismissed. He is now facing imprisonment for up to 10 years.
My Dad’s story is representative of the
social injustices that continue to be prevalent in our nation: the
violation of academic freedom of expression, racial prejudice, and the
abuse of local authority to silence an opposing voice.
I certainly don’t expect you to believe
the scenario I describe here based on my word, but I would beg you to
investigate the case. I believe you will find it worth your time, and that
the attention you may bring to my Dad’s case is almost certainly his
last hope. My Dad can be contacted at 409-690-6539.
If you would take a few moments to consider
his situation, I believe that you will find it both disturbing and
newsworthy. I have enclosed a more detailed review of the relevant events.
Also please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you very much for your time and
consideration.
Sincerely, Shara Pradhan ‘01
My father, Dr. Dhiraj K. Pradhan, was hired
in 1992 as the Chair of the Computer Science Department at Texas A&;M
University. Unknown to him, Texas A&;M University had a history of
mistreating its professors. Until 1988 it was one of a very small number
of schools nationwide blacklisted by the American Association of
University Professors. (Please also see the February 8th, 1998 article of
the Bryan/College Station Eagle by John Kirsc.) His first (comparatively
minor) experience of trouble was the University’s failure to take action
when he was confronted with racial slurs and harassment within the
department.
After a few years as chair of the
department, my father realized that TAMU was applying to administrative
purposes an inappropriate proportion of the Chair accounts, and my father
learned that the school was trying to impose a post-tenure review on all
Texas faculty. He spoke promptly to other faculty members concerning the
policies, concerned that they would degrade the quality of academics, and
went on to voice opposition to them in what he referred to as a “public
forum.” Within 24 hours of the forum (October 1996), while my father was
out of town on a trip to Washington D.C., the University had the computer
in his office confiscated. It contained not only his own personal data but
intellectual property belonging to his students and to colleagues with
whom he was working. When he sought a reason for the confiscation he was
told it had been removed for repairs. Meanwhile, obviously without his
knowledge, the data from the computer and his office files were delivered
to the FBI and the District Attorney.
In November of 1996, disturbed by the length
of time his computer had been missing, my father tried to exercise his
legal right (under the Texas Open Records Request) to obtain the real
reason for its removal. The school did not respond. Instead he received a
letter from the District Attorney informing him that the Attorney’s
office was proceeding against him with an indictment for misallocating
funds. Thus rather than bringing the matter to my father’s attention in
order to actually address it, TAMU immediately took it to the local
authorities in what my family believes was a gesture designed to
intimidate. He requested a meeting with the administration several times
without success. For over two years, the University refused to divulge its
grounds for conducting the audit, which supplied the basis of the
indictment. These allegations were never made known to my father until
August 1997. At this point, he was suspended from his tenured position,
without due process of law or any opportunity to address the allegations.
The suspension was also in violation of TAMU procedures. At some point
during this period the University let him submit a written response to the
allegations against him. Then, without his consent, TAMU released it to
the FBI and the District Attorney.
Also in August of 1997, my Father received a
Fulbright Chair in Europe, but the University implemented travel
restrictions which forced him to forego it. The National Office of the
American Association of University Professors intervened on his behalf in
September 1997. In a letter to President Bowen of TAMU, Robert Kreiser,
Association Secretary of the AAUPA, questioned the University’s right to
restrict my father’s travels. "We fail to understand," he
wrote, "why, if (Professor Pradhan) has no duties or commitments at
the University, he should not be free to spend his time where and how he
wishes."
In March 1998, the formal indictments were
brought against my father. The law he had allegedly violated was a Texas
law called the "Specific Law of Abuse of official capacity."
This law forbids conducting non-University business on trips made
primarily for University purposes. The vague wording of this law has been
challenged by my father in an appeal filed in August of 1999 and refiled
in December of 1999.
Up to this point, the local newspapers and
media had been unfavorable in their portrayal of my father, who is married
to a Jewish woman in a southern small town. He felt it was unlikely that
he would be able to secure a fair trial because of their coverage. At the
same time he was concerned that the vagueness of this law left room for a
possible conviction. Therefore, after legal counsel, trying to act in our
family’s best economic and long-term interests, he plead guilty to one
count of abuse of official capacity with 28 examples. Professor Robert S.
Boyer of the University of Texas testified on behalf of my father's
character, adding, "Pradhan is a distinguished fellow in two computer
science faculty societies. He is a highly ranked professor. He has been
grotesquely harassed in my opinion." At this point my family and I
just wanted to pick up the pieces of our lives and move on.
Meanwhile, in August 1998, in the hearing
under Judge Sam Spar in Austin’s Federal Courts, the Judge found A&;M
guilty of abuse of due process. He ordered the University to reinstate my
father immediately, effective September 1, 1998. After a few months of
reinstatement, a University hearing in March 1999 completely disregarded
the Judge’s rulings, this time by firing him. At that hearing my father’s
students presented glowing testimonies about him. Despite these and
various testimonies from professors around the world to my father’s
professional character, the University dismissed him in June of 1999,
effective August 10, 1999.
My father had filed a lawsuit against
A&;M for violating his 1st, 4th, and 14th Amendments and for wrongful
termination. In October of 1999, he added the Board of Regents to the
suit. Then during Christmas break, in what my family suspects was a
retaliatory move, my father was arrested for photocopying charges he had
incurred, for no personal gain, after his termination, in violation of his
probation. (He had the Head of the Department's oral permission, though
the Head is now claiming "not to remember"). My father had not
realized that he was violating probation.
TAMU decided to push for jail time. My
father was taken to jail without bond and incarcerated for three days for
photocopying over Christmas! Local authorities confiscated his U.S.
passport, and he has been unable to travel to India to fulfill a prior
commitment to teach a class.
The University has not responded to over 500
letters by professors and scientists worldwide trying to protect my Dad
from undue punishment. The Committee of Concerned Scientists and the
American Association of University Professors have involved themselves, to
no avail.
My father holds the prestigious Humbolt
prize in Germany and had been named a fellow of two distinguished computer
societies (IEEE and the Association of Computing Machines). He is
world-renowned in his field. I mention these accomplishments because,
obviously, the last three years have been disastrous for a career which he
worked very hard to build.
My father’s lawyer, Charles Osborn, has
summarized this situation thus: "(Pradhan) urged the formation of a
labor union for professors at A&;M to fight the new law of post-tenure
review. Within 24 hours, the Vice Chancellor of Texas A&;M began an
intense witch hunt to try to find accusations against Pradhan." The
only way for my Dad to lose his job was for him to have to go through this
witch-hunt.
Already, this situation also seems to be
well known within the Academic world.
** Hired 8/92 as Chaired Professor in TAMU's
Computer Science Dept.
** Enjoined to make that department
'world-class'.
** Suffers racial slurring/harassment within
his department; department &; university do nothing.
** Brings in MUCH research $$ for department
&; TAMU.
** TAMU tries (unsuccessfully) to
retroactively attach a review clause to
Pradhan's contract (all other TAMU Chairs
have review clause).
** Reveals to other Chairs the
disproportionate % of Chair accounts TAMU helps itself to.
** Vocalizes opposition to proposed merger
of CS Department with Electr. Engr.
** Vocalizes opposition to Texas imposing
Post-Tenure Review on all TX faculty.
** Away at conference, Pradhan's office
computer is seized by TAMU (10/96).
** Internal audit of Pradhan commences.
** Without due process OR following their
own guidelines, TAMU suspends him.
** Federal District Court judge orders TAMU
to reinstate him.
** Indictments brought against Pradhan
(3/98).
** Pradhan plea-bargains (11/98).
** Civil suit filed against TAMU by Pradhan
** Pradhan fired (8/99).
** Pradhan files appeal to overturn all
criminal charges against him.
** Board of Regents members added to civil
suit (fall, '99).
** Arrested/jailed for photocopying charges
allegedly incurred post-termination (12/16/99).
PRADHAN SEEKS RESOLUTION FROM A&;M The
Battalion January 17th 2000
Former Texas A&;M endowed professor
Dhiraj Pradhan claims Texas A&;M still holds on to some of the same
racial grudges that he believes to be part of the prejudiced history in
the state of Texas.
"Texas A&;M had me jailed on
trumped-up charges of using the copy machine," Pradhan said.
"Bizarre it may sound -- but this is the old South. They don't like
me, so they sent me to jail."
Pradhan, who at one time was the
highest-paid computer science professor at A&;M, said although it has
been years since original allegations were brought against him by the
University, his case remains unsettled and A&;M refuses to offer any
kind of compromise.
Last week, Pradhan said he was looking for
employment outside of the United States but had to forfeit job interviews
in Europe and India because his passport was seized on Dec. 17, 1999 and
has not been returned. He currently resides in College Station.
In January an independent investigation
National Science Foundation exonerated Dr. Pradhan of all wrongdoings.
Texas A&;M Dean of Engineering Dr. Peterson says" We were bit
surprised with this final report issued by NSF. A&;M had assumed that
NSF will corroborate the audit report issued by A&;M earlier".
Pradhan said the investigation began only
after his outspokenness about racial harassment, diversity, and
post-tenure review. He claims that Sam Sparks, a federal judge in Austin,
found that A&;M proceeded illegally when he was suspended, and Pradhan
was immediately reinstated after having been on leave with pay.
Pradhan said he simply wants to be left
alone. He said the University has brought five criminal charges against
him in the past two years.
"They are squeezing blood out of a
stone," Pradhan said.
Pradhan said the Southern attitude of
faculty, staff and administration is one of the driving forces behind the
University's discriminating harassment against minority staff members.
"I don't think my story is
unique," Pradhan said. "There have been many cases like mine --
mine just got too much press."
Pradhan believes false accusations were made
against him based entirely on his ethnicity. He sent an email message to
600 faculty members in October 1996, rallying to form a labor union for
A&;M professors.
"Within 24 hours, the vice chancellor
of Texas A&;M began an intense witch hunt to find accusations against
Pradhan," said Charles Orsburn, Pradhan's Houston attorney, in a Jan.
21, 1998 story in The Battalion.
Pradhan said two other University professors
-- Dr. Richard Wysk and Dr. Ignatio Rodriguez -- felt it was imperative to
resign from their positions at A&;M and continue their work elsewhere.
Wysk is now a professor at Pennsylvania
State University's Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering.
Rodriguez is employed by Princeton
University's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Rodriguez
said since he left A&;M, he does not care to comment on what was still
taking place here.
He said most Indians are treated as second
class in his experience of 30 years in the United States.
"Indians will never admit this because
they are too busy bragging about making money," Pradhan said.
Pradhan said basic rights were violated
throughout the duration of the accusations and litigation. He claims his
rights to due process were violated, and that he was subjected to illegal
search and seizure.
On Oct. 28, 1996, Pradhan was in Washington
D.C. at an academic conference. His computer, computer records and files
were seized from his office.
Pradhan said he was arrested at his home on
Dec. 15, 1999 and no Miranda rights were read.
Cynthia Larson, executive director of
University Relations, declined to comment on Pradhan's case -- citing the
University's policy of not commenting on cases that are still in
litigation. Pradhan's attorney was not available for comment.
"I may have made mistakes, but it is
time to call it quits," Pradhan said. "I dearly feel bad for
what has happened, but I just want to be left alone."
Does anyone know more about this? Has Texas lost its mind or is there
something left out of the story? This is a major university?
My secret is out: I let my readers do a lot of my research for me. And
LO:
As you said, there may be more to this than meets
the eye. Please take a look at
http://www.tamu.edu/univrel/news/stories/99/CAFRT99.htm
for the report of the Faculty Review Committee which
recommended his dismissal in March of '99.
I'm not coming down on either side of this case,
only pointing out that there may be more than one viewpoint.
RL
Indeed, the report seems conclusive, and I'm going to remove the whole
thing.
If you later find a big hole above where you thought you had seen
something about a controversy at Texas A&;M, don't worry about it. I'll
either move it to a separate page or fling it all on the grounds that
there's no obvious reason for me or my readers to be concerned... The
report certainly establishes that there were charges far different from
those mentioned in the original letter, and practices quite different from
any standard university practice I am aware of.
The new Netwinder (Rackmount) is in place and working now. See column
for details...
On a somewhat less serious note:
Gee, I think somebody got hacked...
http://www.drudgereport.com/walls1.htm
<<MATT DRUDGE -- DRUDGE REPORT 2000®.url>>
Chris Morton
And now it's clear that the new Rebel.com Rackmount Netwinder is
working properly, all my servers are in the cable room and there is even
one fairly orderly corner in that monster-infested place, and all is well.
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