UW Gazette, November 15, 1995
    
    Dr. Sehdev Kumar, whose discipline under UW Policy 53
was announced by the president two weeks ago, has accepted
the Gazette's invitation to make a statement. Here are his
words:
    
    I maintain now, as I have done since the allegations
publicized in the President's statement of November 1 were
first made more than one year ago, that they are totally
false and fabricated. I reaffirm that in directing Himalayan
Field Study Program - a non-UW program, sponsored and
administered by Canada-Commonwealth Human Ecology Council -
I did absolutely nothing wrong by any deed, word or gesture.
    President Downey decided on June 1 to impose a fine on
me in connection with these allegations. It must be noted
however that the President's decision - arrived at with care
- cannot be equated with that of an impartial third party
tribunal, since no formal hearings were held at any stage by
the administration in accordance with the principles of
natural justice.
    Also, in two recent cases with similar allegations, mine
and that of Professor X (as identified by the Faculty
Association), for the first time in the history of the
University, the administration chose to address complaints
under Policy 53, rather than refer them to the Ethics
Committee, comprising a student, a professor and a staff
member. The Ethics Committee conducts its hearings in
accordance with the principles of natural justice.
    On June 29, I appealed the President's decision.
However, on October 13, I suffered a severe heart problem
and was rushed to the emergency room of KW Hospital. Because
of the fragility of my health, the extreme emotional strain
I have been subjected to over the past year, and because of
my very poor financial situation, on the urging of my family
and friends, I withdrew my appeal on October 18, 1995. At
that time, it was made very clear to the University that the
withdrawal of my appeal was not to be construed as an
admission of any wrongdoing.
    In withdrawing my appeal, I chose to accept the
President's decision rather than face the risk to my health,
and to return to my research and teaching, which is for me a
vocation and a calling. It was in this spirit of goodwill
that I expressed to the President, the Dean and the students
concerned my profound regrets for having been regarded "as
the cause of emotional and other strain to several members
of the university community".
    While withdrawing my appeal authorized the President to
impose the penalty on me, it did not authorize him to
publicize and endorse the allegations against me. The
President's public statement amounts to an extremely onerous
additional penalty imposed on me after the fact, apparently
in response to political pressure. Moreover, to the best of
my knowledge, publication of such a statement in this manner
is unprecedented in the history of the University.
    I fully support all demands for the revision of
university policies to deal with allegations of ethical
misconduct in the most thorough and fair manner. In doing
so, I believe extensive inputs from all groups - students,
faculty, staff - are necessary.
    To respond fully to the charges against me contained in
the President's statement would inevitably require naming
names and breaching confidentiality; it would also require
reference to hundreds of documents, earlier submitted to the
President, and the statements of many others. For these
reasons, and because of the uncertain state of my health, I
do not believe that it would be appropriate or even possible
to respond to the charges here.
    I derive great satisfaction from the fact that here at
the University, since 1984, I have been nominated for
"Distinguished Teacher Award" seven times by hundreds of my
students, and that in their various evaluations and
testimonials, I have been called a "wonderful teacher",
"open", "inspiring", "helpful", "intellectually and
spiritually stimulating", and "most knowledgeable".
    Despite recent personally devastating events I will
continue to serve my students in the best ways possible.