Unaccountable behaviour in Italian academia

A letter from J. Scott Raymond, Calgary

Dear Editor,

As a former professor of David Aliaga's at the University of Calgary, I was very pleased to read your interview with him [Doctoral torture, JUST Response, Dec 21 2002]. I have followed Mr Aliaga's case closely since he returned to Calgary in the early 1990s. I have written several letters on his behalf to the Italian higher education ministry and have yet to receive a reply. I have been appalled at what seems to have been callous indifference on the part of my Italian colleagues. The worst of the many sordid acts inflicted on Mr Aliaga was the examination committee's decision to fail him when some (perhaps all) members had not read his thesis. Such behaviour is unconscionable, and in my view, the guilty parties should be stripped of their academic credentials.

That there was no investigation of the committee, no means of making them accountable for their action, and no process of appeal that Mr Aliaga could pursue is disturbing. The academic credibility of any university system hinges on its accountability. The treatment of Mr Aliaga is a blot on the grand history of the Italian universities. I am, however, filled with hope by some of the responses you have received from your readers, which suggest that changes are being made, that Mr Aliaga's case may be appealed, and that measures are being taken to ensure that such negligent treatment of a student will not be repeated. It is my further hope that someday I will once again be able to recommend to my students that they study at an Italian university.

Note: This letter was published by JUST Response on January 15 2003.

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