EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Dr. Ivor van Heerden’s attorney on recent ruling on lawsuit

Dr. Ivor van Heerden

This morning, I spoke to Dr. Ivor van Heerden’s lawyer, Jill Craft regarding U.S. District Judge James Brady’s ruling that Dr. van Heerden is not entitled to tenure at Louisiana State University (LSU).

Van Heerden asserts he was entitled to tenure and that LSU deprived him of due process. Van Heerden also claims, in his lawsuit, LSU harassed and retaliated against him for criticizing the Army Corps of Engineers and therefore jeopardizing future grant money.

LSU receives large federal grants from the Army Corps.

CRAFT: This ruling was not unexpected. It’s very difficult to successfully achieve tenure because the process is driven by the school’s rules not the law. However, this ruling is not really significant.

ROSENTHAL: What does this ruling mean for Dr. van Heerden?

CRAFT: The rest of the case is intact. We have depositions scheduled with LSU administrators during the week beginning February 14. I am looking forward to having the administrators testify under oath about what they know. I am looking forward to getting to the truth.

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I spoke earlier this week with Dr. van Heerden. He felt this ruling was a less important part of a much larger process. He also added that he was currently working “out in the field” making sure the oil from the BP disaster got cleaned up.

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Sandy Rosenthal
Founder, Levees.org
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