Whores of Academe - Preface

Exposé on Academic Corruption and Denial of Human Rights
at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY and University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Compromised principles for personal gain and academic advantage without merit.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

	Mark A. Emmert, University of Washington and Shirley Ann Jackson, Rensselaer hold ultimate responsibility for multiple violation of civil and human rights

This tale of two cities (Troy, NY and Seattle, WA) shows that not much has changed since Charles Dickens wrote those immortal words (1859). Whores of Academe describes the surreal unethical, illegal and vindictive behavior of university presidents, administrators, and faculty members. Their harassment and unlawful activities include breach of contract, fraud, and denial of due process on constitutional issues and violation of human rights which has continued for more than twenty years.

During 2005, Contra Cabal asked readers whether Mark A. Emmert, the new president of University of Washington, would gratefully assume the position as head of the whorehouse or would he introduce some honesty and integrity by addressing the injustices that he inherited from a drunken whoremonger. It now appears that Emmert chose to pimp at the University of Washington in a similar way to that of his alter ego at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. [Big Mama]

Contra Cabal

Contra Cabal, a compendium of Op-Ed columns and exposé on the practice of political correctness, denial of academic freedom, and elder abuse, has published since 1992 as a web-based, electronic journal. It now has a circulation of more than 150,000/hits a month. Contra Cabal has attracted writers with similar interests worldwide. It is hoped that in the future it can be used as forum for them as well as a site for promising graphic designers to show their talent.

Dereliction by RPI administrators and UW officials precipitated the original notion to create a publication independent of the university. The idea of publishing essays about academic impropriety would not have developed without the unswerving moral turpitude, ethical ambivalence, and artfulness of faculty members and administrators at RPI and UW.

Editorial describes legitimate complaints that officials neglected to address and process. Instead of using lawful procedures to mediate and correct issues, administrators used censorship, prior restraint, and denial of computer access. They also expropriated research and editorial databases to harass the author, a professor and retired CEO while he worked on a Special Doctor of Philosophy (SPhD) degree.

Both universities denied due process of law on grievances that ranged from prior restraint and intentional harassment to age and gender discrimination. Prior restraint applies to the denial of the First Amendment right of a journalist/professor/public intellectual (or anyone else for that matter) to gather and publish information or opinions without institutional control or fear of reprisal.

Administrators made frivolous claims of rules infraction to deny computer access in support of aberrant administrative ideologies and to prevent publication of exposé. They covered up that censorship by misusing their power to deny due process of law.

The US constitution establishes limits to the power of institutions. It also denies university administrators the power arbitrarily to deprive others of their constitutional rights. Such arrogance manifests the quintessence of academic totalitarianism at both these universities. [Political Correctness]

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) found probable cause after a nine-month investigation by an independent lawyer. However, UW lawyers and WA attorneys general thwarted due process by making a composition with an ACLU administrator and convening kangaroo courts. They took similar action on a complaint filed with US Department of Education.

State Actors

The term “state actor” refers to any person employed by state universities and private universities and their employees when they have either a direct or indirect relationship with government bodies by joint or several action. US Supreme Court has determined that the Fifth and Fourteenth amendments, and associated laws, apply to private individuals and organizations conducting business under government auspices. It has defined them as state actors.

State actors become personally liable when they conspire to deprive people of their rights or to evade administrative responsibility. Moreover, Federal program eligibility requirements cannot be overruled by state or local law. If more than one federal law applies to a situation, then the laws apply together. Where one law imposes a more restrictive requirement or standard than another, the more restrictive requirement or standard pertains.

In the case of civil rights, if state or local laws differ from federal law, then the standard which promotes the higher level of protection controls the situation regardless of whether state, local, or federal law has the most rigorous standard. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has consorted with University of Washington, jointly and severally, on the issues reported in Contra Cabal; therefore, its employees classify as a state actors.

Contrived Humiliation

C. Lee Odell (RPI) and Richard S. Neel (UW) maliciously commenced an unending pattern of abuse. That abuse ended almost forty years of diverse employment that ranged from CEO to professor with many accolades and publications. Both Odell and Neel became intimidated by the achievements of a former CEO many years their senior with hundreds of publications to his credit over a forty-year period and a 50-page CV.

They spent many years trying to destroy those credentials despite repeated verification of them by other universities and agencies approved by US Department of Education. A thorough investigation by an attorney appointed by American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also verified those documents and recommended civil and human rights action against them which an ACLU committee approved.

Odell and Neel started twenty-two years of humiliation and unemployment using malicious academic blackballing and discriminatory demands. Their xenophobia increased over the years as they repeatedly committed criminal acts, engaged in agism, and denied constitutional and human rights.

By maliciously ending his professorial career, they gave the author a reason and a purpose to return to his former profession as a journalist: a career started in London's Fleet Street during George Orwell's time. This move to a potentially higher calling could not have taken place without equivocation and disingenuousness by these Machiavellian princes coupled with Orwellian inspiration. [Big Mama]

Academic Publications

The academic papers comprise a body of work compiled during more than ten years of doctoral research. Some appear as scanned portable document files (PDF): others as reconstructed files and graphics. They resided on mainframe computers at Rensselaer (RPI) and University of Washington (UW) as text and graphics until a faculty chairperson at RPI and an administrator at UW maliciously destroyed or otherwise denied access to those databases. Officials also altered or destroyed official transcripts effectively to "disappear" the author.

Due to the small capacity of personal computer hard drives and accessories during that era no independent backup data exists. Reconstructed databases containing all of the required work for two PhD degrees (all of it published and most of it peer-reviewed) will appear in due course. Meanwhile, scanned images will occupy some pages pending retyping or reformatting text and redrawing all graphics. Many illustrations will need replacing which means finding new sources.

The publications list contains some interesting documents selected from probably thousands produced using cutting-edge technology in more than sixty years of writing also graphic and systems design. In some cases, the author developed the technology to meet the need for specialized digital publication. Several of the document paradigms resulted in typographic encoding which later supported desktop publishing systems.

Overview

State officials and university administrators know that if a university receives federal funding and wishes to punish an individual by word or deed then the Constitution requires that punishment must result from due process of law.

Laws presuppose that university officials have knowledge of the regulations that govern them and apply them equally. Only those universities that function within the law preserve the individual freedoms granted by the Constitution despite the self-government privileges that university and state officials possess.

	Rensselaer Academic Mafia

Both Rensselaer (a private university) and University of Washington (a public institution) deny both faculty members and students the basic protection that courts provide. They do not make formal charges and present no evidence before convening kangaroo courts. Frequently, individuals neither know the names of their accusers nor the names of adverse witnesses.

They hold these “courts” in absentia thereby denying accused individuals an opportunity to present a defense. In addition, they deny basic rights in law by disallowing either oral testimony or written affidavits by defense witnesses. The accused individuals, whose only transgression probably relates to exercise of freedom of expression, do not have access to oral recordings or written transcripts of testimony that would enable them to appeal the findings.

Due process requires notice and preliminary hearings before expulsion of doctoral candidates for cause or enforced resignation of faculty members. Legislators have recognized that unlawful and vague definitions, and secret investigation without accountability or due process, lead to extreme politicization and totalitarian control.

Officials at both universities consistently use opinionated, self-serving dicta instead of formal resolution or determination of issues using promulgated procedures. This has resulted in blatant denial of civil rights and due process. These denials have destroyed careers and precluded individuals from earning a livelihood.

Attorneys General in both New York and Washington State, with full knowledge of these unlawful acts, neither charged the perpetrators with any crimes nor investigated them. Republication of this body of academic work represents a first step in making perpetrators of injustice accountable.

These issues will not come to rest until both universities comply with law. The presidents of both institutions must arrange for independent investigation (which takes into consideration both ethics and law) then discipline or indict the people responsible who clearly and deliberately participated in unlawful activities. They have consistently denied civil rights and livelihood.

University officials, faculty members, and attorneys general have repeatedly broken laws, framed evidence to support sham disciplinary proceedings, and have covered up kangaroo court findings. Only an independent investigator can fairly examine voluminous documents which support these contentions.

In Washington state, justice demands that the Attorney General arrange for Washington Superior Court to call a grand jury or petition Washington Supreme Court for an order appointing a special inquiry judge. This could result in the organized crime advisory board naming a special prosecutor. [Justice Delayed]

Paul Trummel PhD (RPI ABD), PhD (UW ABD), MS (RPI), MSc (UK), BSc (UK)
UK equivalencies in graphic communication recognized by Boston University, Northeastern University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Fitchburg State College, San Jose State University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and University of Washington with comparability twice certified by International Education Research Foundation (IERF), a credential evaluation service accredited by US Department of Education

Associate Professor, Communication and Rhetoric (Retired)
Special Doctor of Philosophy Program (SPhD), University of Washington
Fellow, International Society of Typographic Designers (FISTD)
Fellow, Institute of Paper Printing and Publishing (FIOP)
Member, Society of Authors, London

International Federation of Journalists, Brussels (International Press Card)
National Union of Journalists, London (UK Press Card)

Nothing Succeeds like Excess Academic freedom, an absolute right not an abstract philosophy, should not subserve economic considerations. Moreover, information technology remains a right not a privilege despite technocratic claims to the contrary. Legislative and judicial decisions have determined the right of individuals to distribute information freely and the Bill of Rights documents the protection individuals should expect from the state. However, laws do not provide much protection when despotic administrators interfere with computer resources because they disagree with the content of messages: a disagreement probably based upon disclosure of their own malfeasance. They fear dissent and have an aversion to controversy. Their addiction to political correctness frequently causes them to invoke censorship of Internet activities. They not only empower their systems administrators to handle frivolous email complaints by arbitrarily removing computer access but also allow them to censor incoming mail - an outrageous invasion of personal privacy. They act upon an irrational expectation that certain categories of email may contain something that Big Mama would not wish others to read then arbitrarily reject it. Interference with email transmission not specifically proscribed by federal law classifies as a federal offense which Rensselaer and University of Washington officials commit with impunity.

New Releases September 2007 Shirley Ann Jackson, the latest arrival in a trio of uncaring Rensselaer presidents: Schmidt (1988), Pipes (1993), Jackson (1999), continued to employ Thomas Phelan, former H&SS Dean, as "university historian" and publicly adulated him at his death (2006), knowing that he had defrauded the university of millions of dollars by posing as a PhD when he did not hold a post-graduate degree. Phelan's fraud trickled down to negatively affect students. Informed about denial of due process of law to untenured faculty and students, Jackson did nothing about it. She maintains a hypocritical political silence on issues that have had a devastating effect on many faculty and student lives while she unashamedly touts an ethical institution. Phelan's deanship allowed him to employ a cabal of unqualified and inexperienced faculty that in turn short-changed hundreds of students who had paid one of the highest rates of tuition in the US. RPI breach of contract left them with a huge tuition debt and cost them millions of dollars in income through loss of their careers. Successive deans Duchin (1996) and Harrington (2002) covered up the criminal activity that they inherited which effectively made them accessories after the fact. 2007 has seen publication of a series of articles that expose academic and criminal fraud at Rensselaer and University of Washington (UW). They describe a cover-up of ongoing fraud that Jackson, Palazzo, and Harrington (RPI) also Emmert (UW) have neglected to address. http://contracabal.us/ A list of fifteen articles published during September includes a new series entitled Roll of Dishonor which exposes alleged criminal activity by individual tenured faculty members and administrators. New case studies will continue to appear each month. Information about academic fraud and deceit frequently surfaces after alumni and former faculty members read Contra Cabal. That information becomes part of a relevant case study after verification and validation. Students and current faculty members also write letters to the editor on politically sensitive issues. Some correspondents request name withholding to avoid retaliation which the editor, a professional journalist, honors. Send letters to the editor at: [Letters to the Editor] Case studies explain in detail the nature of alleged crimes.

Letters to the Editor Letters should not exceed 250 words, with preference given to those letters responding to articles published in Contra Cabal. Letters must include the author's name, city, and state, email address, and a phone number for contact and verification. The Editor reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity and not to publish all letters. By submission of a letter, the author agrees that Contra Cabal may publish and/or license the publication of letters in print, electronically, and for archival purposes.

About the Author

Paul Trummel (Nmesis) Paul Trummel, published since 1944, uses the pseudonym Nmesis and openly declares personal or conflicting interests. These conflicts may relate to topics or to opinion, especially when the content draws upon advocacy, experience, conclusion, or interpretation. As an accredited journalist, he conforms with the code of conduct and ethics of the journalism profession, tested by courts in both Great Britain and the USA. Since 1947, he has worked as a journalist, an editor (commercial and academic peer-review), a technical communicator, an associate professor (visual communi-cation and rhetoric), and as an administrator at several leading universities. He has held international press credentials since 1959 and holds two elected international graphic arts fellowships. He earned professional letters in the UK that translated into two baccalaureate degrees and a terminal graduate degree in the US. He has also earned a Rensselaer graduate degree and two US PhD degrees (now ABD). [Sherking Responsibility] He taught graduate level students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Northeastern University, Fitchburg State College, San Jose State University, Massachusetts Bay Community College, and a private institute of graphic design. He held an administrative post at University of Massachusetts, Boston, and has lectured at universities in US, Europe, and Japan. In 1957 (London), he founded and operated the first full-service technical communication organization, a group of publishing and technical/graphic communication companies where he held the position of chief executive officer. In 1973 (Connecticut), he designed and marketed the first typesetting system driven by a minicomputer, the precursor for today's desktop publishing systems. He has won an international silver medal for his satire and a US city award for his educational programs for disadvantaged people. Since 1992, he has investigated and written several hundred articles on bureaucratic and elder abuse. He founded Contra Cabal, one of the first electronic magazines to appear on the web, for which he develops the site, writes articles, designs pages, and produces graphics. http://ContraCabal.org Contra Cabal has now published for almost fifteen years. Earlier, it published as email for six years. The hits/month now range between 100,000 and 150,000 with more than a million hits during the past twelve months. Articles cover ongoing criminal activity by bureaucrats and elder abuse. They describe the actions of corrupt judges and gross misconduct by lawyers who file frivolous law suits against tenants in government financially-assisted housing. They outline how managers use unlawful retaliatory measures and propaganda to destroy the reputations of people who report illegal activity and racism. Washington Supreme Court unanimously reversed a lower court decision that effectively allowed prior restraint and defined journalism inquiry as surveillance and harassment. Repeatedly, lawyers who could find no fault with content instead personally attacked the author or his genre. A corrupt judge imposed prior restraint and jailed him for contempt when he challenged the court decisions as a basic violation of constitutional and human rights. To further coerce him, in consort with other jurists, the judge then arbitrarily transferred him to solitary confinement among murderers and rapists. His published work in the print media for more than sixty years has received no challenge relating to accuracy. People, among them elected judges and lawyers upon whom the public should be able to rely, have tried to stop him publishing information on politically sensitive issues. That prior restraint, and restrictions on personal mobility, has now become a matter of international concern. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU - Seattle), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ- Brussels), National Union of Journalists (NUJ - London), American Society of Authors and Editors (ASAE - New York), and Seattle Weekly have all filed amicus curiae briefs with Washington Supreme Court in support of his successful First Amendment stance. Credential validation upon request by journalists and other responsible parties from:

ContraCabal.org ContraCabal.net ContraCabal.com ContraCabal.us