SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT

Avoid the University of Manitoba (unless you’re a dunce, that is)

GUEST BLOG BY ROD CLIFTON, EDUCATION PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA

Your Nov. 18 blog noted again the student at the University of Manitoba who was passed in a Ph.D. program without completing the candidacy exams.  The math prof who blew the whistle on this situation was Dr. Gabor Lukacs, who has now reached an agreement with the U of M.  He will discontinue his complaints in the grievance and the court case, his record will be wiped clean at the university, and, most importantly, he stopped being an employee on November 17.  He could not even say good-bye to the students he was teaching, and I heard that some first-year students were crying in class when a new professor arrived to teach the final three weeks of the course.  Moreover, a number of students left wonderful notes on his web site.

In effect, Dr. Lukacs has been bought off with money and a cleared record.  He is now moving to Halifax where he plans to live while finishing some research papers and applying for other teaching positions.  I observed him teach in both a large lecture hall and during his office hours, and he is undoubtedly a gifted teacher who won two teacher of the year awards in the Faculty of Science. Dr. Lukacs was given a severance package paid by the people of Manitoba, but he could not finish teaching their children for this semester, something that both the students and he wanted very much. 

I have known Gabor very well for almost 5 years; our offices were in the same hall of St. John’s College.  I am very sad to see him leave the University of Manitoba.

There was a recent article in Maclean’s on-campus blog that is very good.