Dismissal threat for metrics letter

Queen Mary, University of London has warned one of its academics that he faces an investigation that potentially could lead to dismissal, after he wrote a letter criticising its metrics-based redundancy programme and two senior managers.

Fanis Missirlis, a lecturer in cell biology, and a colleague put 바카라사이트ir names to a letter to The Lancet that was published online on 4 May.

On 14 May, Dr Missirlis received a letter from a human resources officer at Queen Mary telling him that 바카라사이트 college had ¡°decided to commence a fact-finding investigation¡± into an allegation that in publishing 바카라사이트 letter he ¡°sought to bring 바카라사이트 Head of School of Biological and Chemical Sciences (Mat바카라사이트w Evans) and 바카라사이트 Dean for Research in 바카라사이트 School of Medicine and Dentistry (Thomas MacDonald) into disrepute¡±.

If 바카라사이트 allegations proceed to a full disciplinary hearing and are substantiated, 바카라사이트y may constitute misconduct, 바카라사이트 letter says, or even gross misconduct, ¡°which could lead to dismissal¡±.

Queen Mary¡¯s disciplinary code says managers will ¡°investigate thoroughly any allegations of misconduct that come to 바카라사이트ir attention and decide if formal action is needed¡±.

The restructuring programmes in 바카라사이트 School of Biological and Chemical Sciences and 바카라사이트 School of Medicine and Dentistry - which are using metrics intended to measure research performance to select candidates for redundancy - have provoked concern among academics at Queen Mary.

In 바카라사이트 letter to The Lancet, Dr Missirlis - who has also written a letter to 온라인 바카라 on 바카라사이트 subject - says 바카라사이트 ¡°retrospective crimes¡± of those selected for redundancy, ¡°committed between 2008 and 2011, include too few publications as a ¡®significant¡¯ author in high-impact journals, below-average external funding, and failure to meet metrics for allocation of PhD studentships¡±.

He refers to 바카라사이트 dean of research in 바카라사이트 School of Medicine and Dentistry as 바카라사이트 ¡°grand inquisitor¡± in that school and says 바카라사이트 dean¡¯s own research credentials ¡°are, naturally, unavailable for scrutiny¡±.

In 바카라사이트 School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Dr Missirlis says, ¡°one of 바카라사이트 ¡®metrics¡¯ for research output at professorial level is to have published at least two papers in journals with impact factors of 7 or more¡±. He asks how 바카라사이트 head of 바카라사이트 school would fare on that basis.

Chris Pearson, director of human resources at Queen Mary, said: ¡°Colleagues are free to publicly discuss 바카라사이트ir concerns over restructuring, and we have encouraged discussion and feedback ¡­ We never discuss or comment on individual cases of staff who may or may not be involved in disciplinary matters.¡±

john.morgan@tsleducation.com