Despite repeated requests, Farahi is silent, but sources say he’s active
By Cheryl Hehl, Staff Writer
Controversy surrounding Kean President Dawood Farahi continues to mount. Last week there was confirmation of additional inaccuracies, extravagant spending of taxpayer dollars and evidence this politically connected president is attempting to gain control of the situation.
Despite efforts to contact Farahi about the allegations that have surfaced, neither he nor the university relations personnel have responded to repeated requests for interviews.
University faculty, students and alumni have continued to provide a steady stream of information to LocalSource concerning Farahi, his resumes, political connections and aggressive spending of millions in taxpayer dollars. However, most, if not all, are hesitant about going on the record with their names because of possible retaliation from the university president once described by Democrat Senator Ray Lesniak as “a benevolent dictator.”
According to a source within Farahi’s offices, the university president canceled an annual meeting with the University Promotion Committee scheduled for Jan. 26.
This meeting is where Farahi compares his rankings of those faculty members up for promotion with the rankings of the committee.
After this meeting was abruptly canceled, other sources reported that the Kean University Board of Trustees Executive Committee called an emergency meeting for the following day at 3:15 p.m.
Although Kean Board of Trustee head Ada Morell was seen entering the administration building at 3 p.m. on Friday, there has been no definitive confirmation as to what transpired at this meeting. Nor has their been any media release from the executive committee confirming when their investigation into the Kean Federation of Teachers’ allegations that Farahi falsified his academic credentials.