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Farahi Investigation in the News:

Feb 18, 2012. New Jersey Newsroom Christie must remove Kean University’s President Dawood Farahi By Salvatore Pizzuro.

Feb 18, 2012. Star Ledger Kean University must end drama over President Dawood Farahi resume Editorial Board.

Feb 17, 2012. Kean Tower Farahi investigation began with a question and a flyer By Daniel Reyes.

Feb 17, 2012. Kean Tower Demonstrators march in protest of decision to keep President Farahi By Daniel Reyes.

Feb 16, 2012. Inside Higher Education Résumé Errors Forgiven By Scott Jaschik.

Feb 16, 2012. Wall Street Journal. Kean University Keeps President After Probe By Heather Haddon.

Feb 16, 2012. Kean Tower If students want change, they should take the initiative By Editorial Board.

Feb 16, 2012. Kean Tower Kean students caught in an altercation with a faculty member By Arkor Kolubah & Nicole Marie Padinha.

Feb 16, 2012. Star Ledger Kean students protest governing board’s decision to keep school president despite resume controversy By Nic Corbett.

Feb 15, 2012. Kean Tower Students deserve a statement Editorial Board.

Feb 15, 2012. Union County Local Source Kean trustees vote 7-4 in favor of retaining Farahi By Cheryl Hehl, Staff Writer.

Feb 15, 2012. Star Ledger Kean University president stays put after board shows confidence in leadership By Nic Corbett and Ryan Hutchins.

Feb 15, 2012. New York Times Split Board Backs Kean University’s Leader, Under Fire for Résumé By Richard Perez-Pena.

Feb 14, 2012. Kean Tower Kean Federation of Teachers asks Farahi to resign over charges By Lee Burrell.

Feb 14, 2012. Star Ledger Accused of phony credentials, Kean University president will respect school board’s judgment By Bob Considine.

Feb 10, 2012. Star Ledger Kean president’s resume controversy under review by university officials By Nic Corbett and Ryan Hutchins.

Feb 10, 2012. Union County Local Source Farahi's fate hangs in the balance By Cheryl Hehl, Staff Writer.

Feb 10, 2012. Union County Local Source Political playground: Higher education in New Jersey By Cheryl Hehl, Staff Writer.

Feb 9, 2012. Star Ledger Kean president's resume controversy under review by university officials. By Nic Corbett and Ryan Hutchins.

Feb 2, 2012. InsideHigherEd.com. Resume Scrutiny. By Kevin Kiley.

January 27, 2012. Star-Ledger. Editorial: Investigation of Kean president the best way to settle dispute.

January 26, 2012. Union County Local Source The Blame Game: Kean’s president blames staff for errors as university’s reputation continues to falter, By Cheryl Hehl, Staff Writer.

January 26, 2012. Union County Local Source. Editorial: The Farahi Syndrome.

January 22, 2012. Star Ledger.Kean president says resume errors were made by university staff. By Nic Corbett.

January 21, 2012. Gannett: Politics Patrol. Kean Mutiny: Faculty wants outside probe of school president. By Bob Ingle.

January 15, 2012. New Jersey Newsroom. Kean University fraud, nepotism allegations cannot be taken lightly . By Salvatore Pizzuro.

January 11, 2012. Union County LocalSource. Farahi who? Never heard of him. Letters from schools show no record of Kean president’s publication claims. By Cheryl Hehl, Staff Writer

Kean University Union releases findings challenging President’s resume claims

Calls on Kean Trustees to initiate an independent, academic investigation

UNION, NJ…The Kean University full-time faculty and professional staff Union has presented evidence of suspected fraud by President Dawood Farahi, the latest in a series of scandals that have plagued his presidency, and is calling for a full and independent investigation by the Kean University Board of Trustees, according to Union President Dr. James A. Castiglione.

Research by faculty members on and off campus has documented that Dr. Farahi’s resume and application for employment contain false claims of scholarship in the opinion of the Kean Federation of Teachers.

• Dr. Farahi’s curriculum vitae (CV) claims “Over 50 technical articles in major publications” but extensive searches of scholarly databases find no such publications.

• Dr. Farahi’s application for employment claims several publications that cannot be substantiated and several that have been refuted by the editors of their respective journals. For example, although Dr. Farahi claims to have an article titled, “Patterns of Administrative Efficiency” accepted for publication in Administrative Science Quarterly in 1981, the journal editor specifically refutes Dr. Farahi’s claim, stating emphatically, “ASQ has never published an article by Dawood Farahi, nor have we ever accepted an article by Dawood Farahi...”

More>>Kean University Union releases findings challenging President’s resume claims

New Scrutiny for President of Kean University

Dr. Dawood Farahi

The federation, which represents 480 professors, professional staff and librarians, has accused Mr. Farahi of falsely stating that he published “over 50 technical articles in major publications”—including journals that the union claims don’t exist.

The union also alleged that Mr. Farahi, who is originally from Afghanistan and has strong political ties in Union County, lied about serving as an acting dean at Avila University in Kansas City, Mo., from 1976 to 1983. A representative at Avila couldn’t be reached for comment.

“False claims of academic achievements on official documents seriously jeopardize the academic integrity, the reputation and the accreditation of Kean University,” said James Castiglione, a physics professor and president of the teacher’s union, in a Nov. 29 letter to the board.

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The lying king of Kean

December 12, 2011

Teacher’s union alleges school president falsified credentials

By Cheryl Hehl, Staff Writer

Kean University President Dawood Farahi allegedly falsified his academic credentials in a series of deliberate misrepresentations prior to being hired in 2003, according to a recent letter sent to the Kean University Board of Trustees.

The Kean Federation of Teachers, which is calling for an independent investigation by the university board of trustees, supplied the information in a letter dated Nov. 29 to the board president, a copy of which LocalSource obtained.

According to James Castiglione, president of the Kean Federation of Teachers, a source close to the board of trustees indicated they preferred conducting an in-house investigation before this information became public. However, there has been no confirmation the board immediately launched an investigation or how they plan to address the latest controversy involving the president of this state university.

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The Kean mutiny: Faculty fights back

November 22, 2011  

Teachers upset over direction of school, soaring debt; point finger at university president

By Cheryl Hehl, Staff Writer

UNION — There has been a lot of change at Kean University since Dawood Farahi took over as president in 2003, including soaring debt that went from $48 million to $350 million in just six years and faculty that gave their leader an 83 percent no confidence vote in fall of 2010.

Farahi has mismanaged the college, increased its debt by more than $300 million and compromised the education of its students, according to claims by faculty members.

There are other charges by staff that are startling, including that student fees have surged more than 62 percent since Farahi came aboard and that the university budget has escalated from $140 million to $210 million.

According to faculty members, the money is not going into the classroom, because full-time faculty staff numbers have dropped from 400 to 310, while university administrators jumped 31 percent from 124 to 165.

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Kean of the hill

November 12, 2011  

Sources at school raise questions about influence of Sen. Lesniak
By Cheryl Hehl, Staff Writer

Kean University officials denied this week that powerful state Sen. Ray Lesniak wields too much influence at the Union-based college, despite what some faculty members maintain.

Lesniak, who did not respond to repeated phone calls seeking comment, has his sister and his nephew’s former wife on the Kean payroll.

According to eight Kean professors, who preferred to remain anonymous, Lesniak not only managed to get his sister Margaret Devanney a position at Kean for $86,800 a year, but also the ex-wife of his nephew, George Devanney, the former Union County manager who retired abruptly Aug. 1.

Devanney’s ex-wife, Audrey Kelly, an employee of the university since 1998, makes $129,000 a year as the executive assistant of Kean’s board of trustees since July 2004 when she was appointed to this position. This was just a year after Dawood Farahi became president of the university.

Farahi and Lesniak have close ties, according to sources close to the issue. In fact, the Kean Federation of teachers said in 2010 the president was hand picked by Lesniak for the position. In return for appointing trustees to the board that were friendly to him, Farahi put Lesniak’s relatives in high paying positions.

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Political Education

Linda Bradbury (left) and James Castiglione (center) of the Kean Federation of Teachers with Yolanda Simmons (right) of the Montclair Adjuncts Local get instructions before Saturday's Bergen Labor Walk in Paramus. Union efforts were cited as contributing factors in KFT and union-endorsed candidates winning challenging races. Oct.8.

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Union Protests Kean’s Privatizing of Maintenance

September 16, 2011

By THOMAS FORTUNATO
Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Times

UNION — Kean University campus workers belonging to the International
Federation of Professional Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 195 on Monday protested the University’s Board of Trustees decision to hire a private company, Meridian Property Group, to manage the grounds and maintenance of two of the university’s satellite campuses prior
to a Board of Trustees meeting. In addition to the workers, several Kean students and professors joined in to show their support.

More

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Video: Kean University faculty, staff and students unite to oppose campus privatization

September 14, 2011

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Photos: Kean University faculty, staff and students unite to oppose campus privatization

September 13, 2011

Students support workers' rights at Kean

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Kean University Faculty, Staff and Students Oppose Campus Outsourcing

September 13, 2011

Threat to quality, safety, campus security and standing in community posed by misguided practice

UNION…A unified campus community is calling on Kean University President Dawood Farahi and the Board of Trustees to stop outsourcing vital campus jobs as part of a good-faith effort to restore the University’s standing in the community, save money and safeguard campus security. “Outsourcing of skilled trades and janitorial services at Kean is simply costing way too much,” said Kean mechanic Steve Pinto, chapter President of the International Federation of Professional, Technical Engineers (IFPTE), local 195, which represents approximately 135 janitors, skilled-trades workers, security officers and campus transportation workers. “Our members are committed to the campus and to Kean so it is a mistake to replace them with outside contractors, who cost more and can do less.”

Kean University Faculty, Staff and Students Oppose Campus Outsourcing

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2011-2012 KFT COMMITTEES

Close Ties Between Kean President and NJ Politicians- The Chronicle of Higher Education 2010

Changes at Kean U...- The Chronicle of Higher Education 2010

...Complete March 2011 Issue of KFT Voice...