Durham University forced to lift professor’s suspension

Nov 13 2008 by Neil Mckay, The Journal

A NORTH East university already rocked by a plagiarism scandal has been forced into a humiliating climb-down over its suspension of an academic whistle-blower.

Durham University has been forced to lift the suspension of Robert Watson, professor of financial management at Durham Business School, who was suspended on December 17 last year.

The professor is still absent from work, however, while university disciplinary proceedings continue.

He was accused by university bosses of a number of serious offences, including racism, harassment and intimidation. But Court of Appeal judges overturned the suspension in a landmark ruling last month.

Prof Watson claimed he had been trying to raise concerns about more recent misconduct by Prof Antonios Antoniou, since it was disclosed in April 2007 that the former dean of Durham’s business school had copied peers’ work for his DPhil thesis and a later academic article. The university subsequently suspended Prof Antoniou in October last year before dismissing him in February.

Instead of addressing Prof Watson’s concerns, senior managers at the university have accused him of racism, harassment, intimidation and making false allegations and suspended him on those grounds in December last year.

In an email sent around to Durham University staff in December of 2007, Vice-Chancellor Christopher Higgins said that allegations of intimidation, harassment and racist behaviour had been made against Prof Watson.

“Because of the serious nature of these complaints, and in order to expedite this investigation, I have decided it is necessary to suspend Prof Watson from duty without prejudice and with immediate effect.”

Lord Justice Lawrence Collins ruled last month that Prof Watson’s suspension was arguably in breach of his contract and detrimental to his career. The judges in the case did not accept the university’s stated reasons were the real reasons behind his suspension. Lord Collins said that the allegations against Prof Watson were “weak”.

A spokeswoman for Durham University said: “The Court of Appeal did not decide that the university had acted in breach of contract, only that there was an arguable case that it had.”

She said disciplinary proceedings were continuing.