The provost's office returned a grievance ruling to the Faculty Senate for further investigation last week, effectively delaying a final ruling in the case until fall. The ruling on sanctions against Veternary Microbiology Professor Jorge Ferrer was forwarded back to the Senate committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility because Provost Michael Aiken felt further investigation of the ruling was necessary, Deputy Provost Richard Clelland said Tuesday. Veterinary School Dean Edwin Andrews imposed sanctions on Ferrer last February, stemming from a 1990 incident in which approximately 130 people were exposed to sheep carrying a leukemia-causing virus. The sanctions prevent him from conducting animal research and from conducting or supervising studies of the virus. A faculty committee found last February that although Ferrer was principally responsible for the mistake which led to the incident, he was not guilty of misconduct or of any violations. According to Ferrer, the grievance report sent to the provost found that the dean's sanctions were therefore inappropriate and should be lifted. Ferrer expressed disappointment Tuesday with the provost's decision to return the report. "I understand the committee has done a thorough investigation which includes the report from the two University committees that were charged with the investigation of the matter," Ferrer said. "Therefore, I am not clear on what basis the provost has decided that more investigation is necessary, particularly since there is no new evidence." Provost Aiken, who is on vacation in Wyoming, said last February that although Ferrer was not found guilty of misconduct, the charges against him were not "unfounded" and sanctions could be imposed. The provost's office forwarded the report to the Senate Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibilty through Senate chairperson Louise Shoemaker. Shoemaker, however, is out of the country and is not expected to return until the start of the fall term. The committee is also not scheduled to meet until September. At that time, committee members must first choose a new chairperson before they can reconsider their report's recommendations. "The report states that the sanctions imposed by Dean Andrews in his letter of February 1, 1991, are inappropriate and must be rescinded," Ferrer said this week. "The report also rules that the University should take immediate positive steps to restore my reputation and the University must provide me with assistance as necessary to keep my laboratory operational." "In addition, the report stated that it is not legitimate to discipline me by depriving me of opportunities to do research, and that in doing so this violates my academic freedom," he added. Ferrer was also barred from research using animals during the initial investigation which began last June and ended in February, and ran over the seven months permitted by University Policy. Ferrer has said the sanctions might mean the loss of federal and private research funds. "Because of their nature, these punitive sanctions will most likely destroy a research program which, as judged by leading scientists in the field, has made fundamental contributions to leukemia and retro-virus research for more than 25 years," Ferrer said in a statement last February. Ferrer was found responsible for an April 1990 incident in which 14 lambs infected with HTLV-1, a leukemia-causing virus related to the AIDS virus, were permitted to rejoin a healthy flock at the Vet School's New Bolton Center research facility in Chester County. Approximately 30 New Bolton Center staff members and 100 preschoolers later came in contact with the infected sheep. The faculty committee found no violations, however, and reported that those exposed to the lambs were in no danger of contracting the disease, which is transmitted through sexual contact, blood transfusions, breast milk, or infected needles. Of those exposed, 31 have since been tested for the virus; all of the tests were negative.
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