We are Cornell professors devoted to our university and to the pursuit of knowledge. Pushing the boundaries of knowledge, although often exhilarating, can be challenging.
We now find ourselves at odds between our scholarly responsibilities and our institution's expectations. One of us has formulated a fascinating and intellectually elegant way of understanding nutrition. The other has become aware of an oversight in Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity. Both of our interpretations profoundly challenge current paradigms, with far-reaching implications. Critique and challenge is something we welcome.
We recently met each other because both of our courses were removed from the Cornell course catalog without consulting us — effectively removing our perspectives from the curriculum and from further consideration by Cornell students. We now question the way that Cornell handles the teaching of scientific matters that do not conform to the status quo.
These assaults on academic freedom have not gone unnoticed outside of Cornell, and have been reported on in the June newsletter of the American Institute for Science and Technology Education and in the documentary film "Forks over Knives."
Alarmingly, the elimination of our courses was performed without consulting us as instructors and with no explanation (except for one letter now being suppressed). We appealed the decisions only to find that the process was tightly controlled with no transparency. To this day, no reasons for the course cancelations have been given.
In one case, the decision to eliminate the course was crafted by an administrator having a personal association with an industry and companion government agency known to be unhappy with one of our professional views, as offered in the course.
In the second case, the possibility exists that the course was removed under the auspices of a dean who happens to be a geneticist because the students were taught to develop an active skepticism about the lucrative trends in genetics, such as modifying food crops using antibiotic-resistance genes and performing genetic tests for mental illness and athletic performance. Cornell University should be a "marketplace of ideas" as Justice William Brennan described the role of the American university, and not the ideas of the marketplace as it currently seems to be.
We wish to speak of the serious assault on academic freedom that these administrative actions represent. In both cases, single administrators acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner with no input from the instructor. Indeed, we question Cornell's commitment to the concept of academic freedom, a serious matter that questions fundamental issues of university credibility and integrity.
We hold dear the concept of academic freedom and believe that challenging dogma is not only a right but a responsibility when we have observations and findings to support our views. Without intellectual freedom of inquiry and expression of opinion, the core mission of a university is eviscerated and the academy ceases to exist. Without having such academies, a society decays into autocracy. In such a scenario, we can no longer claim to have universities of, by and for free thinkers.
We are both sincere about our career findings. So are a growing community of people and institutions outside of Cornell. But our researches seem to be presenting serious challenge to Cornell. While we do not know the reasons why our courses were eliminated covertly, it has not escaped our notice that the administrators who made the decisions were, intentionally or not, serving the interests of their industry counterparts.
We both are proud to be Cornellian. One of us came to the Cornell faculty 23 years ago. The other did his graduate work at Cornell, returned to Cornell as a full professor 37 years ago and was then appointed to an endowed chair. He developed a highly productive research program that was generously funded by the U.S. taxpayer via the National Institutes of Health. It is our purpose to think, to explore new vistas and to share them with students and others in a manner that is consistent with human welfare and progress. We believe that most people support this view and we can only hope that Cornell will see the error of its ways.
The concept of academic freedom is essential to the mission of any university. Students and faculty must have the right to explore issues, including those that may be inconvenient to external political groups or to authorities, without being subjected to discriminatory practices and repercussions. We are a public institution and are obligated to share our views with students and with the public according to what our scholarship may reveal. It is not our purpose, as instructors and researchers, to speak for the academy as an institution. It is our purpose to share what we believe are ideas that can create a new public narrative benefiting Cornell, ourselves and our society.
Campbell is professor emeritus of nutritional biochemistry and Wayne is associate professor of plant biology. Both work at Cornell University.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Conyers Calls 6th Circuit Decision Overturning Proposition 2 a Key Step Toward Restoring Equity in Michigan Higher Education
Conyers Calls 6th Circuit Decision Overturning Proposition 2 a Key Step Toward Restoring Equity in Michigan Higher Education (Washington) – House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) called today’s Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to overturn Michigan’s ban on affirmative action a victory for equal opportunity in higher education. The court ruled Proposition 2 violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. The 2006 law required Michigan’s public university system to abandon its affirmative action programs despite a series of Supreme Court decisions in 2003 that had upheld the policy’s constitutionality. “As an opponent of Proposition 2, I am heartened by today’s decision from the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals,” said Conyers. “After losing in court, forces from outside our state attempted to gain a victory through the referendum process, like they did in several other states. This ruling stops their momentum and gives us the opportunity to restore an admissions process, approved by the same courts, that will give all students an equal opportunity to attend our state universities, while still recognizing the unique hurdles overcome by those from racial or ethnic minority groups.” “This victory should be considered a key step toward restoring equity in Michigan higher education.” |
Saturday, June 25, 2011
NY Nepotism Creeps Into the State SUNY Universities
With all the press regarding the shady finances of SUNY’s Research Foundation, “artvoice” decided to check in on the status of who is actually running this shady and very secretive private research foundation that has access without accountability to hundreds of millions ($132 million) in public funding.
The group handled $132,000,000 in state funds for construction projects in Buffalo. As reported in The Great UB Heist:
Who are the directors of the Buffalo 2020 Development Corporation? James Weyhenmeyer, the chairman, is also vice president and managing director of the Technology Accelerator Fund at the SUNY Research Foundation. Satish Tripathi, the vice chairman, is the newly-named officer-in-charge of UB and soon to be president.
Buffalo 2020 Development Corporation board members are: David Dunn, vice president for Health Sciences at SUNY Buffalo; Scott Nostaja, who abruptly resigned as senior vice president and chief operations officer at SUNY Buffalo on March 23; John J. O’Connor, senior vice chancellor for Research and Innovation, secretary of SUNY, and president of the Research Foundation of SUNY; Edward P. Schneider, executive director of the UB Foundation; and former UB President John B. Simpson.
Since then, Scott Nostaja quit his job at UB and has resigned from the corporation. Under intense scrutiny, John O’Connor left his positions at SUNY and the SUNY Research Foundation and resigned from the corporation. John Simpson, who quit as UB President, retains his position in the corporation. So does David Dunn, who recently quit his job at UB to go to the University of Louisville. Current UB President Satish Tripathi also retains his position.
The group is supposed to have a meeting in July, but they contend they are not subject to the Open Meetings Law.
Read more: http://blogs.artvoice.com/avdaily/2011/06/24/buffalo-2020-development-corporation-in-flux/#ixzz1QIkXNtHv
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Feds Probing Medicaid Fraud at SUNY Research Foundation
A federal criminal investigation into systemic fraud related to audits of New York's Medicaid program is targeting numerous supervisors and employees at the state Health Department and the Research Foundation for the State University of New York.
Interviews with people familiar with the matter and documents obtained by the Times Union show that in recent weeks at least seven employees with those agencies received letters from federal prosecutors in Albany notifying them they are targets in the investigation. The letters say evidence is being prepared for presentation to a federal grand jury for indictment in a case involving fraud, health care fraud, falsification of records and conspiracy.
The targeted employees were encouraged to contact prosecutors to discuss a pre-indictment settlement, and to consult attorneys if necessary. The letters were sent by assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Lord, who specializes in white-collar crime cases.
Federal investigators with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are pursuing whether the scandal reaches into the upper levels of management for the SUNY Research Foundation and the state Health Department, according to sources briefed on the case. At stake is more than $22 billion in annual matching federal funds for Medicaid. The allegations are that Research Foundation workers, who were under contract with the state Health Department to audit the program, were pushed to manipulate data related to the percentage of ineligible people receiving benefits.
On Saturday, the Research Foundation issued a written statement that shifted focus to an arm of the Research Foundation in Buffalo. People briefed on the investigation said workers at the foundation's Albany headquarters are targets of the probe.
People familiar with the case said several Research Foundation workers have alleged they were fired or retaliated against after questioning the practice of altering data or manipulating information such as residency requirements of Medicaid recipients.
One such employee, Ava Dock, filed a civil complaint against the Research Foundation in U.S. District Court alleging that Research Foundation's ''purpose to underreport New York's error rate for Medicaid claims was to defraud the federal government ... in order to avoid the disallowance of federal matching funds for Medicaid to New York,''
The Research Foundation considers itself a private, not-for-profit agency though its leaders are mostly made up of top SUNY officials. The foundation handles about $1 billion annually in revenues, mostly in research grants from the federal government. Its workers also routinely conduct business on behalf of the state through government contracts, and many of its employees have state government jobs and state e-mail addresses.
This is not the first time NYS and SUNY Research Foundation Have Been Investigated for Fraud
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Feds-probing-Medicaid-fraud-at-SUNY-firm-557890.php#page-2
Interviews with people familiar with the matter and documents obtained by the Times Union show that in recent weeks at least seven employees with those agencies received letters from federal prosecutors in Albany notifying them they are targets in the investigation. The letters say evidence is being prepared for presentation to a federal grand jury for indictment in a case involving fraud, health care fraud, falsification of records and conspiracy.
The targeted employees were encouraged to contact prosecutors to discuss a pre-indictment settlement, and to consult attorneys if necessary. The letters were sent by assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Lord, who specializes in white-collar crime cases.
Federal investigators with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are pursuing whether the scandal reaches into the upper levels of management for the SUNY Research Foundation and the state Health Department, according to sources briefed on the case. At stake is more than $22 billion in annual matching federal funds for Medicaid. The allegations are that Research Foundation workers, who were under contract with the state Health Department to audit the program, were pushed to manipulate data related to the percentage of ineligible people receiving benefits.
On Saturday, the Research Foundation issued a written statement that shifted focus to an arm of the Research Foundation in Buffalo. People briefed on the investigation said workers at the foundation's Albany headquarters are targets of the probe.
People familiar with the case said several Research Foundation workers have alleged they were fired or retaliated against after questioning the practice of altering data or manipulating information such as residency requirements of Medicaid recipients.
One such employee, Ava Dock, filed a civil complaint against the Research Foundation in U.S. District Court alleging that Research Foundation's ''purpose to underreport New York's error rate for Medicaid claims was to defraud the federal government ... in order to avoid the disallowance of federal matching funds for Medicaid to New York,''
The Research Foundation considers itself a private, not-for-profit agency though its leaders are mostly made up of top SUNY officials. The foundation handles about $1 billion annually in revenues, mostly in research grants from the federal government. Its workers also routinely conduct business on behalf of the state through government contracts, and many of its employees have state government jobs and state e-mail addresses.
This is not the first time NYS and SUNY Research Foundation Have Been Investigated for Fraud
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Feds-probing-Medicaid-fraud-at-SUNY-firm-557890.php#page-2
Monday, June 6, 2011
Value of a College Degree is crashing faster than the housing market
Children in the U.S. are taught that a college education is the ticket to a good job. But the cost of a college education is rising, and the supposed benefits are more elusive than conventional wisdom would suppose. The National Inflation Association reveals the scam behind the myth of the college education.No wonder, then, that according to Time Magazine, a recent poll shows that:
“... a majority of Americans think colleges fail to deliver enough bang for their buck. Of 2,142 adults surveyed, 57 percent said the higher education system in the U.S. fails to provide students with good value for the money they and their families spend.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/06/03/is-a-college-education-the-biggest-scam-in-us-history.aspx
Colleges only interested in lining their own pockets
1. Federal grant and loan programs allow college costs to be overinflated for the value being offered at Colleges
2. Textbooks is a kickback industry
3. College tutition has 5%+ price inflation even though the housing market is down over 20% and the dow is down 18%. College is the only thing in America except for healthcare that did not decline in price.
4. College costs over $100k and you are NOT guaranteed a job.
A senior in high school that invests $30k in i.e. silver would be able to buy a median priced home in 4 years. Whereas his contemporaries going to college will come out over $100k in debt and NO JOB.
Total cost of college:
$186,000 college degree
$61,000 interest paying college loans
$212,000 lost income
________________________________________
Total cost of college: $460,000
Disclaimer: the posted video is a commercial to buy gold and silver and National Institute of Inflation. We do
“... a majority of Americans think colleges fail to deliver enough bang for their buck. Of 2,142 adults surveyed, 57 percent said the higher education system in the U.S. fails to provide students with good value for the money they and their families spend.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/06/03/is-a-college-education-the-biggest-scam-in-us-history.aspx
Colleges only interested in lining their own pockets
1. Federal grant and loan programs allow college costs to be overinflated for the value being offered at Colleges
2. Textbooks is a kickback industry
3. College tutition has 5%+ price inflation even though the housing market is down over 20% and the dow is down 18%. College is the only thing in America except for healthcare that did not decline in price.
4. College costs over $100k and you are NOT guaranteed a job.
A senior in high school that invests $30k in i.e. silver would be able to buy a median priced home in 4 years. Whereas his contemporaries going to college will come out over $100k in debt and NO JOB.
Total cost of college:
$186,000 college degree
$61,000 interest paying college loans
$212,000 lost income
________________________________________
Total cost of college: $460,000
Disclaimer: the posted video is a commercial to buy gold and silver and National Institute of Inflation. We do
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Public school, private dealings
Public school, private dealings
As the State University of New York looks for more independence, it should be doing all it can to earn the public's trust. Instead, SUNY wraps itself in the cloak of secrecy that already shrouds the SUNY Research Foundation.
The university refuses to release a report on its relationship with the Research Foundation. So much for shedding some light on this rather covert entity that handles $1 billion in grants annually and has been tainted by corruption and patronage allegations for years. SUNY says the report is "privileged."
And therein lies the problem -- with a secret foundation, with SUNY's outrageous pay hikes and housing allowances for top administrators, with a possible no-show job for the daughter of a former Senate majority leader, with the suggestion that higher education is beyond scrutiny: The air of privilege that SUNY exudes is sometimes breathtaking.
The report, done by legal consultant Hogan Lovells US LLP, is on the "Research Foundation/SUNY relationship." Paid for with $290,000 in public funds, the report is said to offer a comprehensive look at the Research Foundation. But Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, who commissioned the report shortly after coming to SUNY in 2009, considers it protected by lawyer-client privilege. SUNY won't even say why she had the report done in the first place.
So let's get this straight: The state-funded SUNY had to pay nearly $300,000 to understand its own murky relationship with the Research Foundation, yet the public that foots the bill for SUNY is told, "none of your business"?
It's all the more of public interest right now, when SUNY Vice Chancellor John J. O'Connor, who also headed the Research Foundation for 15 years, is facing charges from the state Commission on Public Integrity that he hired Susan Bruno, daughter of former Republican Senate leader Joseph L. Bruno, for a no-show job as Mr. O'Connor's special assistant. She resigned the $84,120-a-year job in 2009 amid Times Union inquiries about it. Mr. O'Connor denies the charges and has even asked that a court create an entity to monitor the commission's handling of his case.
Ms. Zimpher, who in recent weeks has been out talking about SUNY's contributions to the state, must appreciate as a public official that she has to take the bad with the good -- and divulge both whether she likes it or not.
If she and the trustees want the Legislature to give SUNY so much independence -- to set tuition, forge private partnerships and manage its affairs without legislative approval -- they have to show that SUNY is willing to be accountable to the public.
And if SUNY refuses, then other state officials should ask why.
This might be a good place for Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who have teamed up to investigate and prosecute corruption in state government, to get started. The comptroller's and attorney general's offices, it's worth noting, were parties to the 1977 agreement that formalized the Research Foundation's role as fiscal administrator for SUNY's grants. It makes perfect sense that they'd want to look at how the foundation is handling things, starting with an audit by the comptroller.
And then let the rest of us in on the secret.
THE ISSUE:
SUNY says a report of keen public interest is "privileged."
THE STAKES:
Secrecy doesn't help SUNY's cause for greater public trust.
NY. Public School, Private dealings
State University of New York refuses to release a report - paid for with $290,000 in public funds - on its relationship with the Research Foundation.
The State University of New York ("SUNY') wraps itself in the cloak of secrecy of the SUNY Research Foundation.
The university refuses to release a report on its relationship with the Research Foundation. So much for shedding some light on this rather covert entity that handles $1 billion in grants annually and has been tainted by corruption and patronage allegations for years. SUNY says the report is "privileged."
SUNY RESEARCH - under investigation for covering up $22 billion medicaid fraud
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Were-state-audits-faked-598325.phphttp://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Feds-probing-Medicaid-fraud-at-SUNY-firm-557890.php
NOT SUNY RESEARCH'S FIRST FRAUD
http://oig.hhs.gov/oas/reports/region2/29302006.pdf
And therein lies the problem -- with a secret foundation, with SUNY's outrageous pay hikes and housing allowances for top administrators, with a possible no-show job for the daughter of a former Senate majority leader, with the suggestion that higher education is beyond scrutiny: The air of privilege that SUNY exudes is sometimes breathtaking.
The report, done by legal consultant Hogan Lovells US LLP, is on the "Research Foundation/SUNY relationship." Paid for with $290,000 in public funds, the report is said to offer a comprehensive look at the Research Foundation. But Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, who commissioned the report shortly after coming to SUNY in 2009, considers it protected by lawyer-client privilege. SUNY won't even say why she had the report done in the first place.
So let's get this straight: The state-funded SUNY had to pay nearly $300,000 to understand its own murky relationship with the Research Foundation, yet the public that foots the bill for SUNY is told, "none of your business"?
It's all the more of public interest right now, when SUNY Vice Chancellor John J. O'Connor, who also headed the Research Foundation for 15 years, is facing charges from the state Commission on Public Integrity that he hired Susan Bruno, daughter of former Republican Senate leader Joseph L. Bruno, for a no-show job as Mr. O'Connor's special assistant. She resigned the $84,120-a-year job in 2009 amid Times Union inquiries about it. Mr. O'Connor denies the charges and has even asked that a court create an entity to monitor the commission's handling of his case.
And if SUNY refuses, then other state officials should ask why.
This might be a good place for Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who have teamed up to investigate and prosecute corruption in state government, to get started. The comptroller's and attorney general's offices, it's worth noting, were parties to the 1977 agreement that formalized the Research Foundation's role as fiscal administrator for SUNY's grants. It makes perfect sense that they'd want to look at how the foundation is handling things, starting with an audit by the comptroller.
And then let the rest of us in on the secret.
Read more:
The State University of New York ("SUNY') wraps itself in the cloak of secrecy of the SUNY Research Foundation.
The university refuses to release a report on its relationship with the Research Foundation. So much for shedding some light on this rather covert entity that handles $1 billion in grants annually and has been tainted by corruption and patronage allegations for years. SUNY says the report is "privileged."
SUNY RESEARCH - under investigation for covering up $22 billion medicaid fraud
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Were-state-audits-faked-598325.phphttp://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Feds-probing-Medicaid-fraud-at-SUNY-firm-557890.php
NOT SUNY RESEARCH'S FIRST FRAUD
http://oig.hhs.gov/oas/reports/region2/29302006.pdf
And therein lies the problem -- with a secret foundation, with SUNY's outrageous pay hikes and housing allowances for top administrators, with a possible no-show job for the daughter of a former Senate majority leader, with the suggestion that higher education is beyond scrutiny: The air of privilege that SUNY exudes is sometimes breathtaking.
The report, done by legal consultant Hogan Lovells US LLP, is on the "Research Foundation/SUNY relationship." Paid for with $290,000 in public funds, the report is said to offer a comprehensive look at the Research Foundation. But Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, who commissioned the report shortly after coming to SUNY in 2009, considers it protected by lawyer-client privilege. SUNY won't even say why she had the report done in the first place.
So let's get this straight: The state-funded SUNY had to pay nearly $300,000 to understand its own murky relationship with the Research Foundation, yet the public that foots the bill for SUNY is told, "none of your business"?
It's all the more of public interest right now, when SUNY Vice Chancellor John J. O'Connor, who also headed the Research Foundation for 15 years, is facing charges from the state Commission on Public Integrity that he hired Susan Bruno, daughter of former Republican Senate leader Joseph L. Bruno, for a no-show job as Mr. O'Connor's special assistant. She resigned the $84,120-a-year job in 2009 amid Times Union inquiries about it. Mr. O'Connor denies the charges and has even asked that a court create an entity to monitor the commission's handling of his case.
And if SUNY refuses, then other state officials should ask why.
This might be a good place for Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who have teamed up to investigate and prosecute corruption in state government, to get started. The comptroller's and attorney general's offices, it's worth noting, were parties to the 1977 agreement that formalized the Research Foundation's role as fiscal administrator for SUNY's grants. It makes perfect sense that they'd want to look at how the foundation is handling things, starting with an audit by the comptroller.
And then let the rest of us in on the secret.
Read more:
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