The University of Michigan has become notorious for misdemeanours in its music department. Recent mendacities include:
• Voice Professor David Daniels was promoted then fired for sexually assaulting a student.
• Violin Professor Stephen Shipps was jailed for transporting a minor student across state lines for sex
• Voice Professor Scott Piper has been suspended for propositioning a student.
• Composer Bright Sheng was suspended after a student reported him for showing an Othello video featuring Laurence Olivier.
And now::
Former Rhodes scholar Somangshu Mukherji, a teacher of music theory, appears to have been improperly terminated through the secret actions of the provost, dean of music and hostile professors.
Mukherji, an Indian national, writes: ‘What sticks in my brain to this day, was the Provost’s justification for her decision. She did not cite a deficiency in my materials, or an issue raised by any of the individuals or bodies empowered to decide tenure at the University. Instead—using a phrase that summons images of backroom politics and rigged elections—she indicated that she had rejected my tenure case based on the opinions of unidentified, unnamed ‘reviewers whose judgment I trust.’
A three-month investigation has found the faculty to be at fault in dismissing Mukherji. This one will cost a fortune in settlement and legal fees.
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