"That line can be used against any whistleblower, that s/he has brought disrepute to the organization by exposing the wrongdoings."
Yes he is taking a brave and heroic stand against a student with an anxiety problem. A student who according to links from the Macleans article actually got just under a pass on the comprehensive. What would that be maybe a 75-79% instead of a 80-85%. Oh please won't someone think of the standards! Wrongdoings? Stop the press university administration over rules academic department stop the presses. Wrongdoings suggests something sinister is going on rather than clumsy academic wrangling. The assumption that standards were compromised is not something that has been proven in any substantial way. If the standards of your department rest on the awarding of a few percentage points on a comprehensive exam than maybe its time to question what your standards are. People just repeating rules is rules and requirements is requirements miss the point.
"Expecting all faculty members to write against the university administration is fairly unrealistic. Knowing the atmosphere of a typical university, just the fact that about one third of his colleagues dared supporting him publicly is probably sufficient indication to me that a majority agree with him"
11 faculty members signed a petition protesting a letter of reprimand that was written, when Lukacks was engaged in the internal appeal process. I actually agree the letter should have been protested. He should have the right to follow the internal appeals process and I would support him in making his case even though I disagree with it. I've already stated that I believe an alternate accomodation would have been ideal but I don't know all the details nor do I expect them to be reported in the press. His decision to go to court is more problematic and only one colleague supported him publicly in his court case.
The whole thing is a tempest in a math department.
