Friday, May 07, 2010

More on my firing from AUCA

Last year AUCA only paid foreign faculty 38 som to the dollar even though the exchange rate was 44 to the dollar. They fixed this by converting all salaries into som at the 38 rate. Then in the summer they refused to provide visa support. Now they have fired me. I contacted my union representative and they said that the firing was illegal under the labor legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic. (Update they have since said that refusal to renew my contract is legal since it was temporary). For those of you who know my academic work I urge you to write in protest to the following people:

Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Academic Affairs, Jamilya Karabaeva.

karabaeva_j@mail.auca.kg

Also since AUCA is accredited through Bard College now you should write to their man on our board of trustees, Dean of International Studies, Jonathan Becker.

jbecker@bard.edu

Finally, for those of you who are US citizens I urge you to write to your congressman. AUCA is funded largely by state department funds. Your tax dollars are paying the salaries of the administration here.

The one thing the administration here is most fearful of is publicity. So please spread the word. The more coverage the better.

2 comments:

WR said...

Otto, for the congressman, can you supply as many details as you can (via email, if you prefer) concerning things the State Dept. would object to concerning the running of AUCA? It will make for a better letter.

J. Otto Pohl said...

Yes, I will do that. It might take a couple of days. I have been busy recently as you may well imagine.