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The University of Utah has placed the director of its Middle East Center on paid leave and assumed control of its finances, while officials continue to investigate the scholar's apparent use of unattributed material in published work.
Students and fellow faculty discovered last week that essays by political scientist Bahman Baktiari, including a piece about Egypt published in The Salt Lake Tribune's Feb. 3 opinion section, included passages that appeared to be written by other people. They forwarded their findings to administrators, opening another troubled chapter in the center's struggle to rebuild.
Once a revered interdisciplinary unit with as many as 18 active faculty and a national reputation, the center's prestige and faculty ranks have slipped over the years, costing it a major federal grant and throwing its future into question. Only four core faculty remain, although new hiring is on the horizon.
An internal audit, meanwhile, revealed that the center's expenses have exceeded revenues, humanities dean Robert Newman told students, faculty and staff Wednesday evening.
At that contentious meeting, Newman heard concerns about the MEC's leadership beyond the suspected plagiarism, according to several people who attended but did not want to be named. Newman told them he met with Baktiari on Monday and they agreed he should be placed on leave.
Baktiari's annual salary is $105,000.
"This is standard operating procedure when allegations are made involving ethical misconduct. … The dean's office will monitor all financial transactions as well as the day-to-day operations of the center until this situation is resolved," Newman said in an e-mail. "The university administration is addressing these allegations with utmost seriousness."
As a tenured faculty member, Baktiari is entitled to a rigorous review process before any severe disciplinary action could be taken, officials say. Baktiari declined to comment.
Students and faculty say the controversy is disruptive.
"I am concerned with these allegations, and just hope that this can be resolved as soon as possible. This is quite distracting, and I just want to finish my thesis," said Ben Smuin, a master's student in Middle East studies and co-editor of the center's journal Panorama.
Newman hired Baktiari 18 months ago from the University of Maine to succeed political scientist Ibrahim Karawan, who stepped down in a dispute with Newman over center governance.
After Wednesday's meeting, social-work professor Caren Frost, the center's associate director and director of graduate studies, resigned. Newman said no interim MEC leadership has been named.
Numerous faculty members contacted by The Tribune since the investigation began didn't respond to e-mails and phone messages or declined to comment on the record.