I sincerely hope this is not an attempt to discredit Robert Campbell. He has been a thoughtful poster on this board and a good friend to USM.

Possible troll?

quote:

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Originally posted by: clemsonfriend
"I just heard from an informed source at Clemson that Robert Campbell was removed as an officer form their local chapter of the AAUP.  I don't have all the details, but the reports I received suggest he was removed for finanacial irregularities.  The rumor is that while he was not subjected to criminal prosecution, it was discussed. Robert, my guess is that there is about as much truth to this rumor as there is to the other rumors posted on this board.  Is there any truth to this?  Surely you weren't removed from an AAUP office!  If not, then you need to watch your back at Clemson.  It appears you have created some unhappy enemies there."

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Whoa!  I never said I don't have enemies at Clemson.  And I have been in the habit of watching my back for some time.

As I mentioned a number of times on the old Fire Shelby board, I was sued by a Clemson professor, in a different College, who falsely claimed at the time of hiring that a foreign degree was the equivalent of a Ph. D.  I was subsequently dropped from the suit, and this individual cannot sue more for anything I say about that degree, ever again.  So, for the record, the professor's foreign degree is definitely not the equivalent of a Ph. D... and the professor in question couldn't even produce the original diploma for that foreign degree in court, when the lawywers for one of my colleagues issued a subpoena for it.

I was a member of a "Committee A" in the Clemson AAUP chapter at the time that I was sued.   We had investigated that same professor for colluding with the chair of the department in operating a "shadow" course section and fraudulent grading.  (Basically, two students were taken out of a course taught by an enemy of this individual, with less than a month left on the semester, and awarded A's by the professor in question.  They did no apparent course work, but were strongly "encouraged" to sign letters denouncing their former professor.)  The professor didn't like our investigation a whole lot (understatement ) and claimed that we were really conspiring to investigate the foreign degree (in fact, it was not our committee's charge, and there was no need to investigate anyway...the evidence against the degree being the equivalent of a Ph. D. had been available for some time).

By the way, since our chapter sent the investigative report to the AAUP national office in Washington DC, and the national office did not order us to retract the report, the same professor sued the national organization of the AAUP.  They were dropped from the suit after about a year.

Subsequently, I was President of the Clemson AAUP chapter for a year.  The accusation of financial irregularities shows how ill-informed the purported source is, because I was never the chapter Treasurer--and we had no money in a chapter account anyway.  (It was a small chapter and when we held a meeting off-campus, it took place in someone's home.)   I was never removed from any office in the Clemson AAUP.

And, yes, the professor who sued me likes to spread rumors.  (One of the more creative of these alleged that the enemy who was the target of the "shadow" course section was paid $1 million in return for agreeing to retire early.)  A couple of people who supported this individual are still bitter about the whole business, and may be spreading rumors, too.  But there aren't a whole lot of supporters left..the professor in question has alienated most former friends and administrative sponsors, and, according to my genuinely informed sources, will be pushed into retirement in another year.

Of course, all of this is assuming that "clemsonfriend" has actually talked to someone at Clemson, and isn't just making everything up.

Robert Campbell

 

Thanks for the clarification, Robert.  I figured that the entire story was a little less "exciting" than clemsonfriend would have us believe.

NO QUARTER!

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Originally posted by: ram
"For what it's worth, I appreciate (and believe) RC's explanation.  I take some sick comfort in the "normal" intrigues at another university. But another part of me believes that no response was called for, because the post was nothing but character assassination.  In effect, clemsonfiend was implying that RC's insights were somehow less honest, accurate, germane, or valuable because he was alleged to be involved in a financial scandal in South Carolina.  Seems to me, Dr. Cambell's contributions to the ongoing discussion here in Mississippi stand on their own, irrespective of whether they were made by a saint or a sinner.  Or a psychologist.  "

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 "Clemsonfiend" versus "Clemsonfriend"  ... I love it! 

quote:

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Originally posted by: clemsonfriend
"I just heard from an informed source at Clemson that Robert Campbell was removed as an officer form their local chapter of the AAUP.  I don't have all the details, but the reports I received suggest he was removed for finanacial irregularities.  The rumor is that while he was not subjected to criminal prosecution, it was discussed."

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I see that "Clemsonfriend"--or should that be Clemsonfiend? --hasn't been back.

You know, it occurs to me that although the professor who made the false claim of equivalency for a foreign degree wasn't prosecuted, another faculty member (the only remaining defendant in the lawsuit when it finally went to trial) wrote to the South Carolina Attorney General's office, asking them to undertake a criminal prosecution. So you could say that criminal prosecution "was discussed."

Consequently I have a very good idea who Clemsonfriend's source is--assuming that Clemsonfriend's source isn't himself or herself.

In any event, I'd say that trolls from the Dome ought to be a much bigger concern, to participants on this Board, than trolls from Clemson.

Robert Campbell