EFTA01017053.pdf

From: Lawrence Krauss To: nancy dahl J [email protected]> Cc: Lawrence Krauss Subject: final OEI complaint. Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2018 00:55:26 +0000 Back home..I will print this out, go over it, and send on the weekend... I would like to lodge an official complaint against Dean Patrick Kenney, of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for harassment and retaliation against me, creating a hostile work environment that has made it difficult, if not impossible, to carry out my professional activities as a scientist and tenured faculty member at the University since the signing of my settlement agreement with the University on Oct 19th, 2018. I request you initiate a investigation and determination regarding this complaint and make appropriate recommendations to the Provost for disciplinary action against Dean Kenney. I am informing Dean Kenney of this request, indicating that any additional harassment or retaliatory actions against me by the Dean will be forwarded to your office for further action. Again, I stress that the actions of the Dean I shall describe here have taken place since the signing of my settlement agreement with the University on October 19th. After settling with the University my period of administrative leave mandated by ABOR 6-201 (J) (3) ended. I am on leave at the University until I retire and during that time and the only constraint on my professional activities is described in my settlement as: " "Krauss shall have no authority to act for or on behalf of ASU and shall make no statements, including in any online profiles or social media websites or in speaking engagements that misrepresent his status or authority. Krauss shall continue to be subject to Arizona Board of Regents and University policies while he remains employed" Following my settlement, on Oct 26th I contacted the Dean regarding access to my travel funds to return to the University to help prepare my office materials for my retirement in May and to meet with colleagues etc. When I did not get a response, I resent my request to the Dean and the Provost on Oct 30th. On Nov 1st, I received the email, attached. informed me that I may not use University funds for travel purposes, either to and from ASU campus, that I could not come to campus unsupervised, and indicated that I would be required to have my research materials packed and removed from my office well before the agreed-upon retirement date of May 16, 2019. I replied to his letter explaining that this was not a part of my settlement agreement, and informed him that I would be coming to campus from time to time to go through materials in my office and meet with colleagues on physics issues if necessary, as well as attend a physics meeting that is taking place in February, and attend some retirement seminars offered by the University, and that the settlement explicitly gave me until May 2019 to return property and move out of my office. The Dean did not respond to my email, which I took to be tacit approval of the plans I had outlined. On November 8, 2018 I arrived on campus to attend a public colloquium and meet with the colleague and friend from Boston University who was giving the colloquium and had requested to meet with me to talk about a physics project of mutual interest. At midday, I was approached in my office by Nancy Gonzalez Dean of Natural Sciences, who explained that Dean Kenney instructed her to pass on the message that I am not to be on campus, and to inform me that I was not allowed to attend the public colloquium given by my friend. I note that in this regard, limiting my ability to even attend a public event places restrictions on me, without justification or explanation, that are not placed on even those with no connection to the University, much less a tenured faculty member at ASU. EFTA01017053 When Dean Gonzalez visited with me in my office, she agreed that my interpretation of the Dean's silence was reasonable and agreed that I had followed appropriate procedures when I arranged with the Physics Department office to schedule a time to meet with the Colloquium speaker, and they set up a time. Having visited my office she also agreed that it would be necessary for me to spend substantial time there over the coming months in order to organize the thousands of books and papers there before my retirement in May. . Dean Kenney's attempt to bar me from not only my office and my funds, but from all public events put on by the University, is grossly unjustified, hostile and retaliatory. Following the visit by Dean Gonzalez to my office, I received a harassing email from Dean Kenney referencing inappropriate sections from ABOR regulations as justification for withholding my rights as a faculty member, or even as a member of the public to attend events at ASU, and stating unilaterally and without justification, and in violation of my rights, that he would have someone pack up the materials in my office and transfer the materials on my hard drive without my consent or presence. The manner in which the Dean responded to my reasonable and courteous requests and communications has been unnecessarily hostile. I attach copies of email correspondence between the Dean and myself to this letter. He appears to be retaliating against me without justification for defending myself by questioning his decision in July to recommend my dismissal—a recommendation that was obviated by the signing of a settlement agreement with the University on Oct 19th— by refusing to let me even come to my office to go through my possessions, meet with colleagues, attend public lectures as his now-stated plan to pack my materials without my permission before I leave in May. This punitive and retaliatory behavior is unwarranted and improper, This harassment is violates both the harassment and retaliation clauses in ACD 401 that your office is empowered to deal with. I will be happy to have a skype interview with a member of your office, or provide any further materials necessary, in addition to the emails attached, to provide any additional information you need regarding this complaint. In addition, please feel free to contact Dean Gonzalez to confirm my description of our interaction in my office and her assessment of my actions. I should add that Dean Gonzalez was very courteous and understanding, and in no way to I intend to include her in my complaint here. Lawrence Krauss Lawrence M. Krauss Professor School of Earth & Space Exploration and Physics Department Arizona State University, P.O. Box 871404, Tempe, AZ 85287.1404 Lawrence M. Krauss Professor School of Earth & Space Exploration and Physics Department Arizona State Universit P.O. Box 871404 Tern •e AZ 85287.1404 EFTA01017054