Interview with Dr. Etienne Schneider in the Fokus Newspaper on 9 December 2011

Transcription

1 From: Peter Bock Subject: Fwd: The downfall of UIST Date: 29 Dec :35:58 PM EST Interview with Dr. Etienne Schneider in the Fokus Newspaper on 9 December What is the issue between you and the University for Information Science and Technology (UIST) in Ohrid? The issue is that I was fired without any notice at all or any hint that my performance or behavior was unsatisfactory. When I returned to work after the summer break, everything was relatively normal. I began to prepare for the new academic year, continuing to perform my normal duties as requested by the previous rector last Spring, which included my role as acting vicerector for academic affairs. I simply assumed that role would continue with the new administration until informed otherwise. By the end of August, I was informed that the new university administration had threatened to fire some of the teaching assistants because they hadn't returned to the university this Fall. The fact is that the University Senate had granted these assistants paid leaves-of-absence to finish their doctoral research. Some of them were granted more than a year, so at least in those cases the decision of the new administration was in total contradiction with the decision of the Senate, and no one was informed about this last-minute change of policy. On 1 September 2011, the new Rector, Danco Davcev, called a meeting of the University Senate. At that early date only four of foreign professors had returned to Ohrid: an American, two Britishers and myself. Another was still in Japan. One of the British professors, although already present in Ohrid at the University, was not invited to join the meeting. Also present at the meeting was another British professor, the only Macedonian professor at that time, and the student who was the President of the Student Body. There were two British professors under contract to the University at that time. The other one, we were told, had been denied attendance at the meeting because his contract was signed by the previous Rector. We informed the new Rector that all the contracts of all the foreign professors had been so signed. This fact was dismissed as irrelevant, we were told, because his case was "different." No further explanation was offered. The meeting was surreal: we were given an agenda, which included voting on the inclusion of some new members of the University Senate. We suggested that the Rector postpone personnel votes of this kind until the other senate members could be there and when the problem with the British colleague was solved. However we were persuaded that it was urgent that we accept new members to the Senate, despite the direct violation of the University statutes. Two of the three new proposed members were husband and wife, despite the fact that such nepotism is strictly forbidden by Macedonian Law. When so informed, Rector Davcev moved to establish nominate a commission that would verify if new Senate members could be elected to the Senate at any time. This commission was to be composed of the British professor, the student who was the President of the Student Body, and the Rector himself.

2 The vote on the motion to establish the now vice-rector as a new member was taken. The Rector, the British professor, and the student voted in favor of the proposed member, while the Macedonian professor, the American professor and I abstained. The Rector declared the vote as valid, but several members stated that it was not valid because, by University rule, members could only be added be a clear majority, and only 50% had voted in favor. At this point the husband of the now vice-rector - at the time he was not senate member yet - asked if any of the current Senate members were illegally working at the university. The person acting as a general secretary said that only the American Professor was not eligible for working at the university because he didn't give his PhD diploma. After much discussion, the American Professor agreed to produce another copy of his diploma by the next Monday(5 September) or Tuesday (6 September). The Rector agreed, but asked the American Professor to leave the meeting. The senate meeting continued, and new members of the Senate were voted: first the now vice-rector, then an advisor to the rector (who was voted "for" by the same commission members plus the now vice-rector), then the husband of the vice-rector (who was voted "for" by the same commission members plus his wife and the other advisor to the rector). Throughout all of these strange machinations, the Macedonian professor and I abstained. As I said, this Senate meeting was truly surreal. And it did not stop there. On the day after this meeting (Friday 2 September), the American professor was fired by . The following Monday (5 September) the advisor to the Rector (husband of the now Vice- Rector) *told* the British professor who was absent from the Senate meeting that he was fired because his contract was signed by the previous Rector and because it was a two year contract. He never received any written letter or even an about his dismissal. After these events, Mr. Pance Kralev, the Minister of Education sent word that he wanted to meet with the Rector Davcev, one Macedonian Professor and one foreign Professor. When the Macedonian Professor and I went to meet the Minister, on September 9, he apologized to us, telling us that he had made a mistake and had already met the Rector earlier that day. We informed the Minister about the aforementioned events. The Minister listened to us politely. After the meeting we learned that the Minister had not only met with the Rector earlier, but also with the husband of the now Vice-Rector (and advisor to the rector) and the second British professor. After all, he had fulfilled his obligation, hadn t he? He had met with a Macedonian professor and a foreign professor. How cunningly clever. On Thursday 15 September, the Opening Ceremony of the University took place. The entire ceremony was held in the Macedonian language, even though the official language of this University was mandated by Macedonian Law in 2008 to be English, and all the previous Opening Ceremonies were held in English. The Monday thereafter (19 September), 18 days after my new contract started, I received the letter that was published in Fokus on Friday 7 October. That letter terminated my new two-year contract for , which had been mutually agreed to and signed in good faith by the previous Rector. 2. Because there are many opinions that the direction of the University has changed from international to local, did you notice any irregularities in the operation of the University? If so, please tell us what has changed.

3 I only have unofficial information, telling me that some lectures were held in Macedonian. I have also noticed, as did Kanal5, that some professors who are Macedonian are listed on the University website as having different country of origin than their own. For example, one Macedonian professor s country-of-origin is listed as Norway; another s country-of-origin is listed as the USA, and yet another lists France. One could argue perhaps that it's because they have been or even lived previously in these countries. But those circumstances do not define their "country of origin". Fine, but then why not putting for foreign professors their previous "country of origin", for example one was in Japan, another one in China, another one in the UK? During the Summer I also noticed that several new pages of the website were only in Macedonian. Although I notified the webmaster and other people that English speaking University should have all webpages to be (at least) in English. I never received any answer, but in their favor, some changes were made Did the university employ staff (professors and other employees) inappropriately? For example people without diplomas? That's difficult to say: I know in my case that I was asked to submit my diplomas before starting to work. I sent my diplomas to the university administration in early June 2010, long before I started to work on the September 1. It has been asserted that the American professor didn't submit his diploma, but it has also been said that he was hired as a consultant, so the rules may differ in that precise case. I discussed with Professor Peter Bock about that kind of issue, and he said to me that the plan for the University approved in 2008 did not require a candidate for a visiting professor to have a doctorate. This was done, as it is in many American universities, to acknowledge that some people have earned their expertise in teaching and research in industry, and as acknowledged experts in their fields, certainly have the bona fides to be considered for faculty positions as professors. 4. There was an inspection at UIST few weeks ago. A few days before that inspection you said you had a private meeting with Shikoski. What did you talk about? What did he say? That is not quite correct. I had a very short conversation with this person on the same day as the inspection. I wanted to talk with the inspector, but I was told that she didn't have time for me. As I left the room, he added: "Oh, by the way, my wife will sue you, and I will sue you too." I was a bit surprised by this threat and asked "Why?" He told me: "Because you spread rumors and wrong information about us" I was amazed because I had no idea what he was speaking about. It is not my habit to make false statements about someone, moreover to spread rumors. I asked: "Which ones?" And he replied: "You will see." 5. Why were you fired? Was that legal decision?

4 The letter published by Fokus states three reasons: 1. I don't have a work permit, which is the duty of the employer to get; 2. The university was not satisfied with my work... without stating any specific complaints. I never taught under the new administration. According to a previous article in Fokus, some people have been fired because they didn't speak English well enough. Among the three foreign professors, there is an American citizen, a British subject, and a French citizen. So, whom do you think he was speaking about? Isn t it quite obvious that it was about me. But as you may have seen on the interview on Kanal5, students now complain that some professors are often lecturing in Macedonian in class, instead of always in English. My two-year contract was not deemed valid because of budget constraints, but in fact the University wrote and signed my contract in good faith. What is a contract if it does not represent an serious legal obligation? Was a legal decision? That I cannot say, because I am not a lawyer: it was written on the letterhead of the University. It was signed "From the Senate of UIS&T", and it was signed by the Advisor to the Rector, whom you mentioned earlier. But it denied everything in my contract. Contracts are made to prevent any sudden or spurious breach by any party. Moreover the day after I received that letter (Tuesday 20 September) when I came at the university to pick up my belongings, the woman acting as the General Secretary of the University informed me that I had to return the laptop given to me by the University (which was already given back in January or February) and any other things, because I was no longer an employee of the University. This person has a Master s Degree in Law. 6. Because you were been a member of the Senate of UIST, tell our readers more about its operation. Did anything odd occur during your tenure? During my first year at the university, there was nothing particular out of the ordinary. We argued sometimes with the previous Rector but, to my knowledge, it was always professional, and from what I know according to the statutes of the University, we always acted in the best interests of the students and the nation. Thereafter, however, things changed drastically, as I described in my answer to question 1 above. 7. Who is now taking your place at UIST? I do not know. Perhaps some local professor or some foreign professor. 8. Describe the atmosphere at UIST now. What have you heard? I can only report what I have heard, because I have no first-hand knowledge since I left the campus. However, I have been told by several different people that now Everyone is watching his back, and Everyone is afraid of the current administration. In the academic year , the atmosphere was good. Now, I have heard, the best students are distressed, because whether they work or not, they will get the same grades.

5 9. The Inspector of Education says that you did not submit your diploma, and therefore formally the University is clear of any legal responsibility. What would be your response to that? My direct answer would be that someone is lying to the Inspector. I gave to the university my diplomas in early June As I remember, I may have also brought them in person to the Macedonian embassy in Paris. Moreover, I gave another set of copies of my diplomas to the person in charge of preparing the papers for my work permit by the end of August And I also sent a copy to the Minister for Information Society, Ivo Ivanovski, in early October 2011, and, if my memory serves me correctly, I may have even brought another copy to him at the meeting with him and his colleague from the Ministry of Education on 21 September of this year. And the current administration (in fact the person acting as General Secretary at that time) requested all of the professors to submit through copies of their diploma "for the Ministry of Education" on August 18,2011. I did reply on the same day, and sent all of my diplomas (i.e. from Bachelor to PhD). From my point of view this paperwork was completed and formally submitted by several different routes before the end of August I wanted to be sure they got this information. Anyhow if they didn t receive this material, why didn't the university ever ask me about this apparent lapse? Moreover, the person acting as General Secretary at the Senate meeting on 1 September clearly stated that Only [the American professor] is not legally allowed to work here because he didn't submit his PhD diploma. In my considered opinion, there is something fishy going on, and that may mean that the University administration lost some papers in the archives between 1 September and the day of the Inspection. 10. Have you witnessed sexual harassment, racism, or other violations of human rights at UIST as one of the professors claimed? Tell us more about that. I heard about that claim, but I have not been witness to any such activities, except for the denial of freedom of speech. Currently it seems that in Macedonia you cannot state freely what you think of the University and its management. This contradicts the freedom of speech guaranteed in all functioning democracies and certainly in all academic venues in the free world. And it is against the European Court of Human Rights of the Council of Europe. Macedonia is part of the Council of Europe. 11. What does the Embassy of France think of all of this? Did they react? How did they react? What did they say about the requirement that the professor must have a visa and a work permit? Who is in charge of obtaining the visa and work permit: UIST or you? Do you mean the formal position of the Embassy or the people that work there? I did get the moral support of the Embassy. When things began to become strange at UIST, i.e. during or after the Senate meeting of the 1 September, I continued to inform my embassy about everything that was happening. I started to be suspicious that something was wrong. The people working at the Embassy told me that they didn t understand how things like

6 this could happen, and that it was not a normal situation (especially the voiding of my contract). They met several times with their British counterpart, and they also met the Macedonian Minister of Education. From what I have been told, he was embarrassed by the situation and asked my Ambassador to tell me to not go public, not to make trouble for the University. Apparently the Minister told my Embassy that the University would immediately propose a new contract. Then it was postponed for a few weeks, then to January, and now nothing. It has to be noted that the French Embassy cannot interfere between one of its citizens and a foreign government, but they also would not allow one of their citizens to be illegally mistreated. As for the work permit, it is the duty of the employer to obtain it; the employee cannot get one himself. So UIST was in charge of obtaining the work permit. Of course, the prospective employee must submit all the appropriate documents, which I did (and always do) even before going to work in Macedonia. On the day I was informed that I was fired, a Macedonian friend of mine, called someone he knows in Skopje and asked about my work permit. The person told him that my work permit was valid until March I realized afterwards that it is the same as the date my passport expires. 12. Did you get your salaries? Ever since I started teaching at UIS&T, salaries have always been paid late. And from what I know, this was already the case before I went to work at UIS&T. I got my July and August salaries in the last days of October. Having the salaries so delayed, required us to take out loans back in our home countries, because it is difficult for foreigners to get loans in Macedonia. 13. Explain what happened during the meetings with the government officials. Whom did you meet? What did they say? There were two meetings with the Macedonian officials. The first one I have already described. As for the second one, people all over the world may have watched that very meeting in the videos posted on YouTube the next day (which, incidentally, were recorded without the knowledge or permission of my colleagues and myself). In addition to the two foreign professors, Minister Ivanovski and Minister Kralev were both present, and the other American professor was also present via Skype. They asked us to explain the case, what happened to the threatening letters sent to the Teaching Assistants by the University administration, and my perfunctory dismissal. They looked amazed and surprised. We then showed them the pièce de résistance: several examples of the flagrant and repeated plagiarism committed by the Rector and Vice-Rector (and other authors). As presented in the videos, the current Rector and Vice-Rector got their positions and/or promotions based on the plagiarized work of other scientists. To be absolutely clear, plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of someone else's work. The word comes from a Latin word for kidnapping and plagiarism is indeed the stealing of something engendered by someone else. (S. Barnet & H. Bedau, Critical Thinking, Reading and Writing: A Brief Guide to Argument, 2nd Edition, Boston, Bedford, 1996.) After seeing several indisputable proofs of plagiarism, the Ministers actually asked us if we were nonetheless ready to go back and work with the current administration. We

7 declined even to dignify this question with an answer. Going back would imply that we approved of everything the administration has done, including their repeated acts of plagiarism. 14. Tell us more about the current relationship you have with UIST. Who are you suing and why? I will let my lawyer reply to this question. 15. Please add anything you would like that you think I have forgotten to ask. Before working in Macedonia, I worked in Germany and in Malaysia. My working language is English. I don't speak English as an Englishman: I am French and I have a French accent. But I am told that, nonetheless, my English is fluent. Much more importantly, I am shocked and angry that, even when presented with indisputable proof of repeated and massive plagiarism, nothing is happening to punish the academicians who have committed this serious and inexcusable breach of academic ethics. In Germany and in France professors found guilty of plagiarism are forced to resign, and in America they are instantly fired. Their academic careers are over. In universities, students who plagiarize are severely reprimanded on the first violation, and immediately dismissed if repeated. I have been told that as long as the Macedonian Minister of Education doesn't declare something as plagiarized, then it is not plagiarism. >From what Professor Bock said to me, when we discussed "that is not the rule of law, which is a solid prerequisite of a democracy. It is clear evidence of systemic corruption and cronyism in the academic community, and a severe condemnation of Macedonian government oversight of their state academic institutions." Professor Bock also added, and anyone would agree: "Finally, it is, of course, the students who are the real victims of this sham. The intellects of the young people are surely the most valuable resource of any country. Yet it is these students whose education is being trampled, whose intellects are being exploited and abused, and whose value systems are being twisted by the self-propagating process of academic cronyism and corruption. It is an outrage. Shame!"