LETTER: Misleading Impression

To the Editor: First, I would not exactly describe our expression of deep concern as "blasting the demotion, which was approved by the Board of Trustees?" You correctly quote me as stating, "If someone is guilty of plagiarism, they should be fired -- period." The net impression given by your story, however, is that the American Association of University Professors was criticizing the Board of Trustees for not firing Professor Whitlock. That was misleading. We were cognizant of the fact that the current Just Cause rules do not permit the Board to impose a more severe penalty than the one recommended. They can, however, return the case for reconsideration. In effect, our criticism of the Board was for accepting an inappropriate penalty rather than sending it back to the School and not for accepting an inappropriate penalty and not imposing a more severe one. One should be aware of the fact that the Board's reluctance to send the case back to the school resulted from their lack of confidence that the school would indeed return a more severe penalty and their concern that the case had dragged on for much too long and it was finally time to close it. MORRIS MENDELSON President AAUP, University Chapter