Engineering Professor C.W. Kauffman has written a long “Faculty Perspective” in the University Record about the alleged theft of his ideas by the University. Something of a conspiracy theorist, Prof. Kauffman has long tried to drum up interest in his situation in the Michigan Daily, which resulted in this article last year about a number of other faculty complaints with University administrators. (The story was written by Daily reporter David Enders, now a columnist studying in Lebanon). One among many festering complaints from faculty about authoritarian behavior by University administrators, Kauffman summarizes his situation as follows:

… Because I protested this immoral [administration] behavior, I received retaliations including reduced salary, removal from traditional teaching duties, loss of teaching assistants and graders, removal from student advisory positions, assignment of excessive work loads, loss of laboratory equipment and space, and insulting treatment by the administration.

I brought a lawsuit that is still pending, and the U-M administration has now proposed its settlement offering me money for early retirement if I sign a gag order. I reject this payment to hide the abiding malfeasance of my own alma mater. The general counsel now asks me to propose a settlement that mimics my original proposal. This has been done, with no result as yet. Meanwhile, I have developed some serious stress-induced medical problems. As part of a campaign of unrelenting retaliation, U-M officials refuse to grant me medical leave despite requests from my physician for necessary diagnosis and treatment.

More information about Prof. Kaufman’s case can be found on the American Association of University Professors webpage.

The University Record notes important Albert Kahn documents have been donated to the Bentley library.

Also, the Lecturer Employees’ Union election for union representation will begin this week.

The Society of Women Engineers, the Muslim Students Association, and the Black Student Union’s Andrea Johnson were among the winners in SAL’s annual student leadership awards ceremony last night.