Students add to math furor

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/12/2010 (5636 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s the controversy that just won’t go away.

University of Manitoba president David Barnard has received a petition demanding that the university immediately reinstate math Prof. Gábor Lukács with full pay.

Iian Smythe, a fourth year student in honours pure mathematics at U of M, said he and another student organized the on-line petition. It was signed by 172 people, primarily students and academics, from as far away as Israel, the country of Georgia, and The Netherlands.

That petition followed on a letter signed by 86 mathematicians from around the world, who said that the ongoing controversy over the awarding of a PhD to a student suffering from extreme examination anxiety jeopardizes the university’s reputation.

After the doctoral student failed the final part of his compulsory comprehensive exam, and claimed to be suffering from extreme exam anxiety, dean of graduate studies Jay Doering waived some requirements and awarded the student his PhD.

Meanwhile, Lukács is taking U of M to court next month to try to have the PhD withdrawn. U of M has suspended Lukács without pay through Dec. 31 for allegedly making public the student’s personal health information — his grievance hearing is set for June.

Students organized the on-line petition through a Facebook site set up to support Lukács.

“I want people from outside the university to see as much value in my degree as I do,” Smythe said. “I really believe that I have received a wonderful education from my professors and instructors within the department of mathematics, including Dr. Lukács.

“I do not want people to think that I have obtained a degree from an institution with lax requirements, but rather that I have met standards set for a thorough and rigorous education in mathematics,” he said.

U of M officials did not immediately have any response Friday to the petition.

The U of M has previously defended its decision to award the degree, saying the student in question excelled in his thesis, aced two of the three tests required to confer the PhD and came within a hair of the required A grade on the third exam.

Petitioners also were able to post comments to be passed on to Barnard.

“The full Ph.D (sic) program of the University of Manitoba should be subjected to an open, public enquiry,” Nalinaksha Bhattacharyya said from the U.S.

“This is a slap in the face to every student who works to fully complete their degree,” said Brady Anderson.

From academic Michael C. Mackey: “I am shocked that the University of Manitoba has so shamefully disregarded the very foundations of academic integrity with their high handed treatment of Dr. Lukács.”

Wistar Comfort said from the U.S. that Lukács has jeopardized his own career: “Folks, you are paid big bucks to see the big picture. You would serve yourselves and the University better by confronting Dr. Lukács and his arguments honorably, not by punishing him. For shame.”

Retired U of M math Prof. Earl Rosenbloom wrote, “The decision by the administration to suspend Dr. Lukács is terrible. As a graduate of the math department of the U of Manitoba and as a retired faculty member of U of Manitoba I am saddened by the stupidity of this administration and the damage it is doing to my university.”

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca