Nerudová called on the new rector of Mendel University to resign, which he refuses
On Wednesday, President Miloš Zeman appointed Vojtěch Adam Rector of Mendel University in Brno. On that day, her current rector, Danuše Nerudová, called for her resignation. The results of the commission’s inquiry into Adam’s older work are to blame.
Rector of Mendel University in Brno Vojtěch Adam.
| Photo: courtesy of Mendel University
Vojtěch Adam was signed as a correspondent author under twelve problematic scientific papers, which Deník reported on in October. He is usually in charge of author’s proofreading before the press, communication with the editorial office and between the author’s teams. Specifically, Adam’s role was to measure research topics, experimental design, and to participate in drafting the publication itself.
The international commission, led by Pavel Tomančák, director of the CEITEC consortium, found that the authors did not adhere to the ethics of scientific work in nine of the twelve papers examined. “The work shows negligence in quality control and obvious data manipulation. We recommend scientific journals for six of them, it is for consideration for the other three, “the final report states.
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The new rector apologized for the situation. “I respect the results of the commission. I apologize for the errors found in the scientific papers that I am next to, but I still consider it important that in none of the articles did the alleged errors have a significant impact on the main conclusions of our works, “said Adam.
Rector Danuše Nerudová presented the results of the current investigation to the academic senate and called on Adam to resign. “I am sorry that the university’s reputation is at stake at the moment. I advised the professor to consider his resignation responsibly, but as the outgoing rector, I respect the choice of the academic senate and I do not consider it right for me to actively intervene in the case, “said Nerudová.
The accused Rector Adam provided the material for his work. The commission will deal with them
However, according to the newly appointed rector, the mistakes found are not serious enough to lead to such an irreversible step as resignation. “I very much appreciate the work of my predecessor, which I would like to follow, on the other hand, I was duly and legitimately elected to head Mendel University and did not like to disappoint the support of the people behind me. I believe that when the emotions cool down, we will be able to solve everything together and throw ourselves into hard work, “outlined Adam.
He also outlined how to avoid such overstepping in the future. “Apart from the repairs themselves, based on the results, I introduced a new transparent system of data collection and control, which I plan for the entire university,” added the rector.