New documents provided on investigation of professor
David Veenhuis
Issue date: 3/16/10 Section: Campus
Conflict of Interest/Conflict of Commitment (COI/COC) Disclosure Forms filed by a UM-Flint professor were provided to “The Michigan Times.” The forms were provided after a Freedom of Information Act request was filed.
An investigation into the possible violation of the UMFlint COI/COC policy by Madhukar Angur was announced to certain School of Management faculty members in an Oct. 26 e-mail from Provost Vahid Lotfi. SOM faculty members had previously expressed concerns with Angur’s involvement with the Alliance Business School (ABS) in Bangalore, India.
“The president of (ABS), Dr. Sudhir Angur, is my brother,” Angur said in a July 24, 2008 disclosure form. “(ABS) is an educational trust and is a nonprofit organization.”
“I am an honorary dean (with ABS), but it is within the framework of (UM-Flint),” Angur said when asked in January about the investigation. “I absolutely followed the procedures for all the conflict of interest (and) conflict of commitment (COI/COC) reports.”
A University of Central Florida (UCF) study abroad form was mentioned in Angur’s March 12, 2009 COI/COC disclosure form. The study abroad form, which was provided to the M-Times by SOM faculty members, shows that students were required to pay their fees directly to Angur. Students were asked provide a certified check for program fees made out to “Dr. Madhu Angur in the amount of $1600.”
“I was mistakenly listed as the contact person for Alliance (Business School),” Angur said in his disclosure form. “This error has been corrected. Upon becoming aware of these errors, I proactively contacted the respective individuals at these institutions to correct the errors.”
"This was immediately corrected and the faculty director was instructed on UCF policies and procedures concerning study abroad payments," UCF International Studies Director Bradley Braun said. "All participating UCF students had the fee posted to their student accounts in compliance with UCF policy. At no time did any UCF student write checks or make payments of any kind either to Dr. Angur, U of M, or ABS."
David can be reached at daveenhu@umflint.edu.
An investigation into the possible violation of the UMFlint COI/COC policy by Madhukar Angur was announced to certain School of Management faculty members in an Oct. 26 e-mail from Provost Vahid Lotfi. SOM faculty members had previously expressed concerns with Angur’s involvement with the Alliance Business School (ABS) in Bangalore, India.
“The president of (ABS), Dr. Sudhir Angur, is my brother,” Angur said in a July 24, 2008 disclosure form. “(ABS) is an educational trust and is a nonprofit organization.”
“I am an honorary dean (with ABS), but it is within the framework of (UM-Flint),” Angur said when asked in January about the investigation. “I absolutely followed the procedures for all the conflict of interest (and) conflict of commitment (COI/COC) reports.”
A University of Central Florida (UCF) study abroad form was mentioned in Angur’s March 12, 2009 COI/COC disclosure form. The study abroad form, which was provided to the M-Times by SOM faculty members, shows that students were required to pay their fees directly to Angur. Students were asked provide a certified check for program fees made out to “Dr. Madhu Angur in the amount of $1600.”
“I was mistakenly listed as the contact person for Alliance (Business School),” Angur said in his disclosure form. “This error has been corrected. Upon becoming aware of these errors, I proactively contacted the respective individuals at these institutions to correct the errors.”
"This was immediately corrected and the faculty director was instructed on UCF policies and procedures concerning study abroad payments," UCF International Studies Director Bradley Braun said. "All participating UCF students had the fee posted to their student accounts in compliance with UCF policy. At no time did any UCF student write checks or make payments of any kind either to Dr. Angur, U of M, or ABS."
David can be reached at daveenhu@umflint.edu.
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