FARGO N.D.
Four of Tom Isern’s fellow professors at North Dakota State University are questioning whether he deserves a special award and the pay raise and title that goes with it.
The faculty members have protested to administrators about the history professor receiving the distinguished professor award, a new NDSU initiative that honors top faculty with a $20,000 raise and prestigious title.
Isern’s backers say his accomplishments make him deserving of the award.
The protesting professors say Isern bullied colleagues and caused a division in the history department, some of which stems back to a 2004 plagiarism accusation against another professor.
The faculty also call Isern an easy grade whose scholarly work isn’t up to snuff.
“Apparently the administrators have a different definition of scholarly than I do,” said David Danbom, another history professor who was nominated for the same award.
