IU Law School Clears Bradford Foes Of Wrongdoing

Former IU-Indy law school professor William Bradford had accused two professors of the law school of unfairly blocking him from becoming a tenured professor after just three years at the school because of his pro-military sentiments on the war in Iraq and discriminating against him because he is a native American. A law student blogsite, IndyLaw, posted a statement interim Dean Susannah Mead released to law students clearing Professors Mary Mitchell and Florence Roisman of any wrongdoing. Mead wrote:

[The Adademic Ethics Review Committee] found no evidence of discrimination on the part of Professors Mitchell and Roisman and concluded that they conducted themselves responsibly and honorably. In my view, Professors Mitchell and Roisman have now been fully exonerated by these actions.

Mead noted that charges Mitchell and Roisman had lodged against Bradford were mooted by his abrupt resignation late last year. Mead indicated that the "matter is closed" and asked student to join her "in putting this unfortunate episode behind us and moving forward in an atmosphere of mutual respect and collegiality."

Bradford's cause had initially been taken up by conservatives across the country who believed Bradford was a victim of the liberal academic culture in America. He made an appearance on FOX News' O'Reilly Factory a short time before it was disclosed that he had misrepresented his military record and service honors. The Star's Ruth Holladay uncovered the discrepancies in Bradford's military record after she discovered he had misrepresented a number of facts about his case for tenure at the law school, which she relied upon in writing a column supportive of his position.