The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, January 21, 1998, Image 1

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    TODAY
TOMORROW
)4 TH YEAR • ISSUE 73 • 10 PACES
COLLEGE STATION • TX
WEDNESDAY • JANUARY 21 • 1998
&M professor threatens lawsuit if fired
By Amanda Smith
StaffWriter
Atenured Texas A&M professor
;us( d of improperly diverting
orerthan $100,000 of University
ids into his private bank ac-
unt is threatening to sue the
loo I if he is fired.
The accusation is lodged against
[ Dhiraj Pradhan, the school’s
;hes i paid computer science pro-
sor^ in a report by University au-
ors. Pradhan has been on paid
ve since Aug. 19.
Houston attorney Charles Ors-
nmvho represents Pradhan, said
^■olcssoi is inline mi nl wrong-
ling . uid may sue the university if
^Hred.
“T1 c University may fire Prad-
n,” Orsburn said. “That is going
cost the university dearly. If
at happens, we will try to get
n compensated.”
|IfAM does not honor an agree-
jnt under which it employed
»avy handed
Pradhan as an endowed chair, “we
are going to do everything that we
can to see that the whole world
knows about it,” said Orsburn, the
lead defense attorney for Pradhan’s
four-lawyer defense team.
C. Roland Haden, vice chancel
lor and dean of engineering, de
clined to comment on whether or
not Pradhan will be fired.
Bill Turner, the Brazos County
district attorney, said that no crim
inal charges have been filed
against Pradhan.
University officials, in a report
outlining their investigation of
Pradhan, said he:
-Used University funds for per
sonal travel and lodging expenses
associated with three private com
panies he owns.
-Made graduate students per
form work exclusively for his private
companies.
-Threatened not to sign a mas
ter’s thesis for graduate student
Gavin Holland unless Holland pub
licly presented a paper to benefit
one of Pradhan’s private compa
nies. Holland, according to the re
port, said he agreed to present the
paper for fear that he would not get
his thesis approved and receive his
master’s degree.
Holland could not be reached
for comment.
Orsburn said Pradhan, a native
of India, has been the subject of
false accusations made wholly on
the basis of his ethnicity and out
spoken nature among professors at
the University. In an e-mail Pradhan
released to 600 faculty members in
October 1996, he urged the forma
tion of a labor union for professors
at A&M.
Orsburn said he was upset when
investigations began immediately
after the e-mail was sent out.
“Within 24 hours, the vice
chancellor of Texas A&M began an
intense witch hunt to try to find
accusations against Pradhan,”
Orsburn said. “A couple of weeks
into October 1996, while Pradhan
was out of town, a University po
lice officer raided his office and
stole his computer.”
Robert Wiatt, the director of
the University Police Depart
ment, said that the information
on Pradhan’s computer was part
of the investigation.
“Whenever the complaint was
made, it was made to the System
through a University audit,” Wiatt
said. “Some of the information un
der investigation was on his com
puter. But system internal auditors
did not do anything illegal.”
Wiatt said that the investigation
has expanded since its beginning
over a year ago.
“Once the internal investigation
began, Pradhan claimed that the in
vestigations were racially motivated.”
In addition to the investigations
by the University, the National Sci
ence Foundation (NSF) is conduct
ing an investigation at the federal lev
el, according to the university audit.
Orsburn said that Pradhan ac
cepted his position as the College of
Engineering Endowed Chair in
Computer Science in 1991 with the
knowledge that he would have vir
tually un-
UNDER v,
INVESTIGATION^
• misuse of graduate
students to profit
private firms
misuse of
University Funds
lim
ited |
discretion over the
spending of a university endowed
fund for the department.
“Texas A&M (originally) gave
Pradhan a letter agreement (when he
first came) and said that he would
have a huge endowment at his dis
posal,” Orsburn said. “Without any
superstars in the computer science
department, A&M was trying to find
one. Dr. Pradhan is one of the world’s
leading authorities on computer mi
crochip design.”
By setting up one of his private
companies, Pradhan was able to get
a federal Small Business Initiative for
Research (SBIR) grant for university
research, Orsburn said.
“That was the only way
that he could get
money to con
tinue the research on fault-tolerant
computer chips,” Orsburn said.
Richard Volz, the head of the
computer science department,
declined to comment on the uni
versity audit and accusations
against Pradhan.
.
JAMES FRANCIS/The Battalion
^na Banay Harrell, a junior mechanical engineering major, receives her 1997 Aggieland
jarbook behind the Graphics Arts Services Building Tuesday afternoon. Students can pick
ip their 1997 Aggielands this week.
owen decides against
rther tuition increases
Staff & Wire Report
[ The only tuition increase facing Texas
V&]\ l University students this year will be the
3gislatively mandated $2 per semester cred-
:hpur, effective with the start of the 1998-99
^cademic year.
Jv&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen has
leaded against proposing any increase in
he University Authorized Tuition (UAT),
diich was formerly called the General
Use Fee.
■Bowen said an increase in tuition was not
lecessary because of the amount of state
unc is the University received.
Bln recent years, the UAT has funded fac-
tlty and staff raises,” Bowen said. “The 1998-
'9 Appropriation from the state was suffi-
, iem to fund raises for the coming year
dthout a UAT increase.”
- Bowen added, however, that it will be
necessary to propose to the A&M Board of
regents a $4 increase in the UAT for the 1999-
2000 term.
The Board of Regents will meet this
Thursday.
The state legislature authorized public
colleges and universities in Texas, effec
tive last fall, to set the UAT at a level not to
exceed that of the legislatively mandated
tuition.
The mandated tuition is required by state
law to increase by $2 per semester credit
hour until it reaches $40.
The tuition rate at the university is now
$34 per semester credit hour and will in
crease to $36 this fall. A&M’s UAT is also $34
per credit hour.
The combined state tuition/UAT rate for
the 1998-99 academic year will be $70 per
credit hour, $2 less than the maximum al
lowed by the state.
Bush Presidential Library
opens its doors to researchers
By Colleen Kavanagh
Staffwriter
With the opening of the George Bush
Presidential Library research facility yes
terday, over two million pages of official
presidential records documenting the
history of the George Bush administra
tion became available for research.
The records from the 10th presidential
library include correspondence, memo
randa, reports and briefing material creat
ed by the Bush White House in response to
congressional and constituent inquiries,
international crises and the development
and implementation of the 41 st president’s
domestic agenda.
The library is open to all researchers,
but those under the age of 16 must be
accompanied by an adult. Research
can be done in the onsite reading room,
and the library can be contacted with
research questions by mail, telephone
or e-mail.
David Alsobrook, director of the
Bush Presidential Library, said
archivists meet with researchers to of
fer guidance about which processed
records and collections are most likely
to contain useful material.
They will also explain regulations,
finding aids, research room procedures
and services and will provide informa
tion on obtaining access to unprocessed
presidential records.
“The facility is essentially user-friend
ly once someone learns how to use it,” he
said. “The main thing is knowing your
topic before you come in. If you do that,
we’ll help you use the materials.”
The Bush materials were brought to
College Station after President Bush left
office in Jan. 1993. Since then, archivists
have been processing them in accor
dance to the terms of the Presidential
Records Act and the Freedom of Infor-
■■■■■■
■ < i e < >| c; i: ivu s i i.! rv r a it m
FILE PHOTO
The George Bush Presidential Library research facility, which opened yesterday, houses
over 2 million pages of documents from the Bush administration.
mation Act.
The files of the White House Press Of
fice and the White House Office of Speech
writing consisting of subject files, alpha
files and chronological files maintained by
the office staff of the Bush administration.
Records maintained by each staff member
are included in the files.
The Bush Presidential Library is the first
library to include the records of two vice
presidents: the vice presidential records of
George Bush 1981-1989 and the vice presi
dential records of Dan Quayle 1989-1993.
President Bush’s Daily Diary, main
tained by the White House Office of Ap
pointments and Scheduling, are also avail
able upon request. The diary, a daily
schedule of meetings, trips, speeches and
White House events involving President
Bush, should not be confused with Presi
dent Bush’s personal diary, which is not
available for researchers at this time.
Alsobrook said being able to see a
copy of any president’s daily schedule
and drafts of every speech he delivered is
interesting.
“Seeing the activities of the president
from the time he wakes up in the morn
ing to the time he goes home at night is
interesting,” he said. “Many people hear
or watch speeches, but they don’t give
much thought to all that goes into pro
ducing them.”
Warren Finch, supervisory archivist of
the library, said researchers can see how
a speech was born, from the information
used behind it to the final speech.
“The information here shows the
evolution of the speech and the
changes made before it was delivered,”
he said. “It’s interesting to see the things
that were changed.”
Board of Regents to host
reception for students
Meeting offers forum to discuss University issues
Please see Bush on Page 4.
aggie life
L.A. Confidential, starring
Kevin Spacey, leads the list
of top ten movies of 1997.
By Colleen Kavanagh
Staffwriter
Texas A&M University
students are invited to at
tend a reception with the
Board of Regents to dis
cuss campus issues and
student concerns from six
to seven tonight at the
Board of Regents meeting
room in the MSG.
Terri Parker, director of
communications, said the
reception gives students
the opportunity to meet
the nine Board members
and discuss student-relat
ed issues.
“The Board wants to be
able to interact with stu
dents at Texas A&M Univer
sity,” she said. “They want to
listen to concerns in an in
formal session.”
The Board of Regents is
scheduled to meet in Col
lege Station on Thursday.
Earl Nye, a regent from
Dallas, said the Board want
ed to have an occasion
“Different people
have different
interests, and we’d
like to hear what the
students think.”
EARL NYE
BOARD OF REGENTS MEMBER
where the only agenda item
was the opportunity to visit
with students.
“We’re people, and we’re
interested what’s going on,”
he said. “The more people
who come, the better per
spective we’ll have.”
Nye said he is looking for
ward to meeting with students
and hearing their concerns.
“I think we should take
advantage of the opportuni
ty to visit with students,” he
said. “Different people have
different interests, and we’d
like to hear what the stu
dents think.”
Dr. Dionel Aviles, a regent
from Houston, said he
hopes to hear as many stu
dent opinions as possible.
“I will listen to every
body’s points-of-view,” he
said. “I never go into a meet
ing with my mind made up.
Making decisions involves
looking at the future of the
University as well as the
Texas A&M System.”
“Being an Aggie myself, it
is neat to meet the students
at Texas A&M,” he said. “I
like to hear student input —
they’re our clients.”
See Page 3
sports
Texas A&M Track and Field
Teams prepare for upcoming
indoor season.
See Page 7
opinion
Safety, protection issues in
the debate over carrying
handguns.
See Page 9
online
http://battaiion.tamu.edu
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