Professor accuses WSU of violations after he criticized cattle rancher, wolf pack removal

Washington State University professor and researcher Robert Wielgus filed a complaint against WSU on Thursday alleging the university has seriously damaged his academic career through the unwarranted use of suppression, condemnation and reprisal after he made remarks critical of a cattle rancher and the state’s subsequent removal of a wolf pack. Wielgus, who directs WSU’s large carnivore conservation laboratory, wrote in his complaint to the WSU Faculty Status Committee that WSU President Kirk Schulz, Agriculture Dean Ron Mittlehammer and Associate Agriculture Dean Jim Moyer violated his academic rights by imposing funding restrictions, requiring all his papers and presentations be submitted to the dean before publication and demanding he not speak to the media or the public on the subject of wolf research. According to the complaint, the issue arose from two incidents – a media interview in August and a public statement he made to the Wolf Advisory Group in March...more