Dr.

Michel Margue Dean of FLSHASE University of Luxembourg Route de Diekirch L-7220 Walferdange

Luxembourg, le 02.09.2011

Concern: Professional Respect

Dear Sir, We are writing to once again express our dismay and protest against the circumstances we are confronted with in the DICA lab. The disturbances created by the Universitys administration have been interruptive, distractive and emotionally abusive. Our highly regarded mentor and director has been publically demeaned and insulted and we see this as having negative impact on ourselves and our work. We are part of the academic center she has worked hard to establish at the University of Luxembourg and frankly, it was the only reason we were attracted to come to Luxembourg in the first place. Yet, day after day, instead of considering the future of the young people the University has committed to accommodate, it seems that certain obscure political and personal agendas outside of our team, have created a poisonous atmosphere where it becomes increasingly more difficult to work with dignity on the academic goals that the University should be supporting. On Wednesday, August 31st, at around 17:15, right in the middle of the groups daily meetings and study discussion, a team marched down the hall and without any discussion or notice to those present, proceeded to block access to the office where Dr. Gudrun Ziegler works. Others came out of their offices into the hallway to see what was going on. The lock and block team was quickly followed by who we later found out was the vice-dean and a secretary. Dr. Georges Steffgen, the vice-dean, spoke in Luxemburgish to Dr. Charles Max, explaining that Dr. Zieglers contract was over and the office needed to be emptied. This was quite shocking to Dr. Neiloufar Family who had many of her documents in that office, as it was essentially a location that was considered a meeting space and not as a private or personal office in the groups minds. Dr. Ziegler had developed an open and free atmosphere where her working location was the place for impromptu exchanges and meetings rather than a private personal office. Dr. Family approached and introduced herself to the woman who had accompanied the vice-dean. Ms. Natalie Kirwan introduced herself as the head of administration. Dr. Family mentioned that no one had informed her of anything regarding a lack of future access to the place where many of the documents belonging to the research group where located. Ms. Kirwans reply that Gudrun should

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have told you; it was her job to prepare you, was taken by the research group as lacking sensitivity and respect for their professional needs. Dr. Family expressed to Ms. Kirwan that she had expected the administration would have contacted her directly to clarify the status of the project she is working on, if the administration had decided to remove her immediate academic supervisor. Ms. Kirwan continued that in her opinion, Dr. Ziegler had the responsibility to make sure that the future of every group member was secure before her departure, instead of dragging everyone with her. Dr. Family was shocked at this socially insensitive and rationally misplaced statement. The University and not Dr. Ziegler had signed the contract she is working under with the stipulation that Dr. Ziegler was her advisor and research director, not an administrative director. The groups full support of Dr. Gudrun Ziegler has thus been further reinforced as the militant actions against her person seemed out of place and not belonging to an academic setting. Ms. Kirwan asked who would now head Dr. Zieglers project for which Dr. Family has a contract, and when Dr. Family indicated she did not know, Ms. Kirwan suggested that Dr. Charles Max perhaps would take over though she does not know either. Ms. Kirwan seemed not to understand the meaning and requirements of a research project, which is a serious intellectual endeavor and not a secretarial/administrative position. Direction of a research is not to be allocated arbitrarily to just any other person. The group has been extremely stressed by the poor communication from the University administration and the lack of clarity on the way forward for the team and the individual team members based on the possibility of her absence. Every day, crucial and specific assessments have to be made regarding the latest ideas and findings from the teams activities that only a qualified person like Dr. Ziegler can manage. After a discussion with Dr. Max, Dr. Steffgen accepted to open Dr. Zieglers office until 7PM that evening in order for Dr. Family to continue the work she was doing with Mr. Martin Kracheel that required the use of the workstation in that room. While his action solved some of the problems created by locking the room in the first place, the team has been unsettlingly reminded of the broader problems that have been created by the lack of professional treatment of the team and the absence of effective communication and problem solving. We expect better from a professional environment and certainly in an academic university setting. This incident has exacerbated a confrontational atmosphere created by what looks to students as obscure and unprofessional cloak and dagger actions. It enhances the feeling of a war of attrition that is a very strange affair, which has been started by the University administrators a few months ago. This messy process has demoralized and drained the energies of the group members, disrupted their work, and delayed critical meetings and put at risk potential publication deadlines. . Unprofessional declarations by administrative staff regarding the situation, reaching further down into personal defamation of Dr. Ziegler who is highly respected by her students, has caused the group a stressful sense of disrespect.

The way the issues have been handled relative to the students and staff in the group has been nothing short of inept, academically and legally, and most importantly socially and on a human level. The young University is expected to focus on developing a nurturing rather than confrontational image. In an earlier related incidence, Ms. Adrienne Ouafo and Ms. Claudia Albanese, two of Dr. Zieglers PhD students, were summoned to meet the Dean or sent a letter or sent an email to discuss the future supervision of their doctorate research. Following meeting with Prof. Margue, Ms. Ouafo sent a report to Ms. Virginie Mucciante, the staff representative for PhD candidates as well as a letter to the Dean and the rectorate reaffirming her satisfaction with the work done with Dr. Ziegler and her decision to stay with Dr. Ziegler as PhD director. Ms. Albanese, in response to the letter from the Dean stipulating he wishes to talk to her regarding changing her PhD advisor, wrote back with a letter including the pertinent clause from the University rules, expressing her satisfaction with Dr. Ziegler and her disinterest to change her PhD advisor to someone else. Both candidates refer to the Rglement Grand Ducal and the Rglement dOrdre Interieur de lUniversit du Luxembourg as legal grounds of their decision: Art. IV.9.101 2 L'Universit du Luxembourg peut dlivrer, en toute souverainet, l'autorisation diriger des recherches pour une ou des thses(s) prcise(s) une personne non professeur ou assistantprofesseur l'Universit du Luxembourg. Dr. Family, a post doc at the University, has never been contacted by the University about the critical issue of her future research mentoring and direction. She was recruited by Dr. Ziegler and moved to Luxembourg from Paris specifically because of Dr. Zieglers academic record, international recognition, and unbounded energy. She had accepted the contract with the University precisely with the understanding that she would work with Dr. Ziegler during her contract. Dr. Family said that Dr. Ziegler is one of the few in the world that has this level of competence in their area of concentration. Instead, the university has assumed a defensive posture, which has demeaned the academic setting and created a very uncomfortable, and less manageable relationship between those whose goals are education and research. There is no reason for the university to act so mindless of consequences of their decisions. Their contract is legally binding and by changing the situation it has been breached very seriously. Dr. Family expressed feeling quite stressed about her future and possible damage to her professional track. The contract signed by University names and specifies Dr. Ziegler as her advisor and director, implicitly guaranteeing that she would be able to publish her work as co-authors with Dr. Ziegler, which Dr. Family considers of immense value. Despite the legal case pending relative to the contested nature of her contract, Dr. Ziegler continues to work with her postdoc on the large amount of data they have collected under her supervision in order to accomplish what their

respective contracts stipulate, explicitly and implicitly. That is, to work with Dr. Family in this specific area and to publish as co-authors. This is another facet of Dr. Ziegler's care for her students, colleagues and commitments, professionally, academically and above all, socially. We would like to advise anyone who considers to disrupt and interrupt our chances to peacefully tend to our research goals, with the only person who is knowledgeable in this area, to refrain from doing so. We would like to notify all concerned that any interruption, disruption, and unacademic action that would hinder our progress, which is based on our legal contracts, will cause fresh problems for the department and the university at large. It is in everyone's interest to avoid any further tarnishing of the Universitys image. We have been interrupted and disrupted enough. The other concern of the students and colleagues of Dr. Ziegler is the destruction of the Universitys nascent but fragile image as a center of research in this unique field. The students feel that such damage may affect how they may be evaluated by potential future employers once they declare the University of Luxembourg as their last academic institution. We demand to be left in peace and arrangement to be made so that we can continue work with Dr. Ziegler until her case is settled. The issues between the University and her are tangential to our academic work, on the other hand, her presence is essential to our academic achievement. All potential opportunity which we may lose due to lack of timely access to our mentor, director, and advisor will cost us enormously now and in the future. Any interruption, for any reason, is an important act and impinges of what the university accepted as their legal obligation when it offered positions to us and signed a contract with us. The university needs to act professionally, not just for its own sake, but also for the sake of the students who have put their trust in it. We demand that all persons involved behave in a way that exhibits respect for academic work, professional discourse, and social competency. This is where we have come to perform research, this is where we discuss our work, and this is where we plan to publish with the co-authors of our choice and we need to be able to meet with such persons in peace and without any interruption or disruption.

Charles Max

Neiloufar Family

Claudia Albanese

Adrienne Ouafo

Martin Kracheel

CC:

Rolf Tarrach, Rektor of the University of Luxembourg Virginie Mucciante, President of the Personnel Delegation, University of Luxembourg Wolfgang Knill, Human Resources, University of Luxembourg Danielle Niles, OGBL, Higher Education Marc Fischbach, Ombudsman, Luxembourg Christel Baltes-Loehr, Gender Delegate, University of Luxembourg Patrick De Rond, President of Centre pour lEgalit du Traitement Viviane Reding, Vice-President, European Comission in Charge of Justice, Fundemental Rights, and Citizenship David R. Fetter, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the United States of America Franois Biltgen, Minister of Higher Education Mary-Jose Jacobs, Minister of Integration