Professor Manuel Graeber,a leading neuropathologist who was the university’s Barnet-Cropper chair of brain tumour research,says he was sacked because he made serious allegations about university management.
Manuel Graeber was sacked in November.Peter Braig
The university maintains action was taken against Graeber solely due to his ongoing misconduct,which included not showing up for classes and installing a surveillance camera,and had no connection to his complaints.
The 62-year-old academic,who was fired in November,is suing the university in the Federal Court of Australia,alleging the institution unlawfully took adverse action against him after making public interest disclosures and that he was wrongfully dismissed.
In a statement of claim filed with the court,Graeber said he had been employed by the university since 2009 and had an unblemished record until May 24,2021,about two months after he made a complaint about university management which he said constituted a public interest disclosure.
On that day he was accused of misconduct relating to the unauthorised installation of a security camera in his office. He was accused of further misconduct in April 2022 and May 2023.
Graeber made a further public interest disclosure to the ombudsman in September 2022. He was told in August 2023 that the 2023 allegations were substantiated and met the definition of serious misconduct under the enterprise agreement. He was fired on November 3.
The statement of claim said the university’s allegations against Graeber were made as a result of an email he sent to vice chancellor Stephen Garton on March 13,2021. It said this could be inferred in part due to the closeness of time between Graeber making the complaint and the subsequent allegations of misconduct in May.
According to court documents,this email included allegations that a senior academic tried to bribe and blackmail a vulnerable young colleague and that Graeber was being excluded or bullied in the workplace.
The email also referenced colleagues involved in moving him from his laboratory space on the brain tumour research floor,which Graeber alleged was in breach of a Commonwealth contract.
“The adverse actions subjected the applicant to distress,humiliation and damage to his reputation,” it read.
In an amended statement of claim,Graeber removed reference to the September 2022 public interest disclosure.
Allegations against Graeber
In its defence,the university laid out a series of ways it said Graeber’s actions amounted to serious misconduct.
This included him refusing to meet his academic supervisor to discuss his performance and failing to turn up for teaching allocation or communicate his reasons for doing so.
Provost and deputy vice chancellor at the University of Sydney Annamarie Jagose.Supplied
“I also do not accept you as my line manager. A full professor does not have a line manager at any international university,” one email he wrote to his supervisor read.
“Please stop writing to me. I do not wish to have any more contact with you.”
He was also accused of setting up surveillance devices in his office since at least May 2,2023,despite being warned his previous use of a surveillance camera constituted misconduct.
“The applicant was aware (or ought to be aware) that the use of a surveillance camera device may be a criminal office,” it read.
The university accused Graeber of making multiple comments he knew to be false,including statements that had the potential to damage the reputation of others.
This included emails sent to deputy vice chancellor Annamarie Jagose, and copied in a large number of others,in which he said she was attempting to “evict a biomedical researcher” after being told he could no longer use his office on level seven of the Brain and Mind Centre.
“Moving or disposal of items would cause irreparable scientific damage and would also breach existing ethics and data protection regulations,” Graeber said.
“You have no relevant information about our space situation as you are asking me to give up the only research space we have.
“I have taken the liberty of informing the federal government about the broken contract promise.”
The university said the comments were all false and that he had an existing office and three workstations. The university also said Graeber falsely stated that the “ombudsman had confirmed Jagose’s corrupt conduct” and falsely claimed he was “still teaching daily”.
Graeber’s response
In a response filed with the court,Graeber rejected all the allegations of serious misconduct made by the university in its defence.
He denied any unauthorised installation of video,saying that in 2011 the then-executive officer of the Brain and Mind Research Institute directed staff to organise their own security measures in response to a series of thefts in the building.
He denied breaching any obligations to comply with lawful and reasonable directions of the university or that his conduct was in breach of the enterprise agreement or relevant policies.
In a statement,Graeber said he had been targeted by university management for years and dismissed on false misconduct allegations.
“There have been very serious violations of my work contract and there were no whistle-blower protections in place. I experienced massive harassment after making a public interest disclosure and
my research environment was systematically dismantled,” he said.
The university said in a statement all actions taken against Graeber were in accordance with the institution’s enterprise agreement.
“The university terminated Manuel Graeber’s employment following a finding of serious misconduct,which was made after an extensive process,spanning over a year,considering more than 15 concerns regarding Mr Graeber’s conduct,” it said.
