Hurricane Expert Fired by Bush Allies at LSU

Louisiana State University is firing a leading hurricane scientist who was scheduled to testify as an expert witness in a case against the Army Corps of Engineers for their pre-Katrina work in New Orleans. Ivor van Heerden, who had been deputy director of LSU's Hurricane Center, says the school's former president, previously a Bush appointee, had earlier threatened to fire him if he testified.

Tenure exists, we are told, to protect the expression of views that are unpopular with the powerful. This is another case where the person who needed the protection of tenure didn't have it. LSU was able to fire van Heerden because he is an untenured Associate Research Professor.

Van Heerden was the leader of "Team Louisiana," the official independent state-funded investigation of the Katrina flooding. That panel found that the levee failures reflected poor design, bad science and shoddy engineering on the part of the Corps. The Bush Administration had held the levee failures were an "act of God."

When van Heerden was first asked to testify in spring 2007, he said in an interview Sunday with Harry Shearer on KCRW's "Le Show," LSU's then-president, Sean O'Keefe, told plaintiffs' attorneys that if van Heerden testified against the Corps he would be fired. O'Keefe had been appointed to high offices by both Presidents Bush – George W. Bush named him head of NASA in 2001, and George H. W. Bush had named him acting Secretary of the Air Force in 1992.

According to van Heerden, the LSU president said that "nobody from LSU was going to embarrass the Bush administration or upset the major Republican companies that benefit from Corps of Engineers contracts."

The school has refused to comment on the firing, citing employee confidentiality as the reason. They did give van Heerden a terminal year – his employment will end in May 2010.

The Director of the LSU Hurricane Center, engineering professor Marc Levitan, resigned from that post in protest over the firing of van Heerden. "For someone who has done so much for LSU and the state, this is uncalled for," he told Marc Schleifstein, the Pulitzer-Prize winning environmental reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

The LSU administration has been trying to silence van Heerden ever since he began criticizing the Corps after Katrina hit in August 2005. In 2006 he published a book critical of the Corps, The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why during Hurricane Katrina – the Inside Story from One Louisiana Scientist. In the book he described how the LSU administration had already tried to silence him. The New York Times ran a feature story in 2006 about that claim, after which LSU's vice chancellor for communications, Michael Ruffner, wrote a letter published in the Times arguing that van Heerden was unqualified to comment on the Corps's work because "he is trained in geology and botany, not civil engineering."

Nevertheless Van Heerden had been appointed head of the official state of Louisiana forensic investigation of the levee problems. That panel's conclusions about the failures of the Corps paralleled those of other scientific panels, including one from the National Science Foundation.

After van Heerden's book was published, according to the Times-Picayune, LSU made new attempts to silence him by changing his appointment from an academic position to a research one, which prevented him from teaching classes. LSU officials told him the reclassification also "prohibited him from making public appearances or working with government agencies," the Times-Picayune reported, but the school's administrators "backed off" after he told them his grants required him to "interact" with government officials.

O'Keefe left LSU in 2008 but the school's senior administration is still committed to his policies, at least in regard to van Heerden.

In the upcoming trial, scheduled to start in federal court April 20, Judge Stanwood Duval will rule on a claim by six homeowners that the Corps failed to heed environmental laws in building and maintaining the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, a shortcut for large ships between New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico, which led to the catastrophic flooding of New Orleans during Katrina. The Corps recently announced it was closing the Outlet as a shipping channel. A second trial will begin shortly after that – a massive class action suit seeking hundreds of millions in damages from the Corps.

Although LSU has officially blocked Van Heerden from testifying as an "expert witness," he says he can still testify as a "fact witness" in the trials.

Comments (42)

1. Well, Mr Wiener, given the unlikelihood of interest or even notice by the Weekly Standard or the Heritage Foundation or Mark Levin in this story....

   no doubt any right-wing posters will change the subject to something they HAVE been told to talk about.

   heheh

   Posted by Mask at 04/13/2009 @ 8:58pm

2. There are historical precedents for university administrator behavior that suppresses & punishes free speech & scientific inquiry. The Vatican, Nazi Germany, Fascist Spain & Italy, the USSR all come to mind. The US GOP & its corporatist owners fit right in.

   Posted by sloper at 04/13/2009 @ 10:18pm

3. Considering this is a state university this shouldn't be a case. Sure if this was a private university I would say they can do whatever they want but if this is a state university, he was appointed BY THE GOVERNMENT so they should be immediately rebuked for this.

   Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/13/2009 @ 10:56pm

4. It's truly disturbing that a partisan political hack becomes a university president in the first place, but that's all too common nowadays.

   If we silence scientists and subvert academic investigations, we lose the ability to learn lessons and prevent or mitigate future disasters. Talented researchers may well opt to work in countries with greater regard for truth and human rights, eroding the quality of our domestic institutions.

   Posted by DrBrian at 04/13/2009 @ 11:06pm

5. This story is all wet. This has nothing to do with testifying before Congress.

   Mr. van Heerden didn't get canned because the guy who fired him turned out to be a Bush appointee, he got axed because of a conflict of interest. I bet his contract stated he could not work for other competing interests, (that includes the state of LA) and that he should have notified the school of the situation.

   How much you wanna bet he conducted states' business on LSU's time?

   Posted by ACook at 04/13/2009 @ 11:53pm

6. The stupidity of the Bush hating leftist is unending and the depths of that depravity remain unfathomable!

   Posted by comancheamerican at 04/14/2009 @ 02:29am

7. "no doubt any right-wing posters will change the subject to something they HAVE been told to talk about."----Posted by Mask at 04/13/2009 @ 8:58pm

   "The stupidity of the Bush hating leftist is unending and the depths of that depravity remain unfathomable!"----Posted by comancheamerican at 04/14/2009 @ 02:29am

   See?.....heheh

   Posted by Mask at 04/14/2009 @ 06:21am

8. I see Ward Churchill won his case, and may be getting his job back.

   That should bring PontiFlogic out from his rock.

   ----

   Wait...wait...wait!!!!

   I thought universities were hotbeds of Anti-Bush liberalism?

   But then again, now we "know" that Bush was a secret liberal. If he isn't, then the whole house of neo-conservative cards comes crashing down as they would have to blame their own for 8 years of profit taking and economic collapse. Can't have that, must blame liberals for all ills. Self responsibility is for others, not the personable responsibility right wing American Taliban. If only they had not voted for that liberal Bush, twice.

   Posted by crabwalk at 04/14/2009 @ 06:52am

9. How much you wanna bet he conducted states' business on LSU's time?

   Posted by ACook at 04/13/2009 @ 11:53pm

   One pint .

   Shall we put your defense of the firing of a Bush critic up there with "Gonzales can fire whomever he wants, there are no rule violations here."?

   Or

   "Kelleg Brown and Root never fleeced anybody."

   Or

   "Heckuva job, Brownie."

   Or

   "Nobody could have predicted the levees would fail."

   Or

   "Plame was not covert."

   Posted by crabwalk at 04/14/2009 @ 06:57am

10. " WASHINGTON -- Top aides to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales violated federal laws and Justice Department policies by selecting employees based on their conservative and Republican leanings, a joint report by two department watchdog agencies concluded Monday.

    The report by the department's inspector general and Office of Professional Responsibility found that in some instances, especially involving the hiring of immigration judges, the improper screening was "systematic.""-McClatcheynews

    "Former attorney general Alberto R. Gonzales broke the rules for handling classified materials by carrying notes to and from home in a briefcase, ..."-WAPO

    "White House Aides Broke Rules on E-Mails "- news | Newser

    But yes, ACOOK, much easier to believe that a prof did some work for the state of LA while on the payroll of LSU, and that is cause for termination of his contract....EGADS!!! Nobody that worked for Bush EVER did anything wrong. Never, never never!!

    Except for President Paulson in Nov 2008. Bad President Paulson!

    Posted by crabwalk at 04/14/2009 @ 07:05am

11. Posted by crabwalk at 04/14/2009 @ 06:57am

    ACOOK's whole post is full of "bets"....didn't think a good Christian woman would be such a gambler!

    heheh

    Posted by Mask at 04/14/2009 @ 07:46am

12. its deplorable and sickening in a typical satano-aynrando ideological good ol' boys abuse of power and use of official position and power to "get" political opponants way...

    sounds frighteningly familiar considering the last 8 years.

    Posted by ibbleblibble at 04/14/2009 @ 09:02am

13. Posted by snowball666 at 04/14/2009 @ 08:04am

    Heard Beck yesterday. They're already starting into the claim that "If you see any wackos at OUR Tea Parties...they're all Huffington Post PLANTS, not REAL good, decent, patriotic Americans like us!"

    So RIO likely would be a "HuffPost plant"!....LOL

    Posted by Mask at 04/14/2009 @ 09:07am

14. "tea bagged"!

    hehe.

    If it were not so sad, it too would be funny.

    Gulag in Cuba? No prob

    Fire attorneys that don't abide by the preferred ideology? No prob.

    Go to war on false premises? No prob.

    Put 2 wars "off budget"? No prob.

    Raise taxes to a similar level seen under Ronald Reagan ? Oh, HELL NO! that is tyranny gone too far! We will go forth and pretend that King George has prevented us from achieving our constitutionally guaranteed levels of income!

    Posted by crabwalk at 04/14/2009 @ 10:25am

15. Posted by Mask at 04/14/2009 @ 09:07am

    aint' no wackos on the right! Don't you know that?

    Eric Rudolph is actually a marxist, as was Tim McVeigh, along with AIP and the local militias that took down street signs to keep those UN tanks cruising in circles.

    Those people that screamed "Kill Obama!" at Palin rallys...

    Lefties all! Plants from Daily Kos and Code Pink.

    It is well documented.

    Posted by crabwalk at 04/14/2009 @ 10:28am

16. "More radical members eschewed elaborate militia organizations and attempted to go it on their own. In Michigan, a group of militia members, allegedly kicked out of the Michigan Militia for being too radical, formed a group first called the "Goof Troop," then, with more dignity, the North American Militia. Members planned to bomb a large number of targets in Michigan, including a federal building and an I.R.S. building; they constructed a variety of pipe bombs and even discussed assassinating various government officials. By 1998, five members of the group had been arrested and convicted on multiple charges; leaders Brad Metcalf and Randy Graham received 40- and 55-year sentences, respectively. In Missouri, a group of extremists from several different states, led by Bradley Glover of Kansas, met at a gathering of the "Third Continental Congress," but decided that this umbrella group was not radical enough for them. They struck out on their own, planning to attack United States military bases that they suspected were training New World Order troops. Members were so committed that they sold their businesses and homes in order to have plenty of money and be completely mobile. The first planned attack would occur against Fort Hood, Texas, on July 4, 1997 -- the day that the military base hosts an annual "Freedom Festival" attended by 50,000 men, women and children. Luckily, good police work on the part of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the F.B.I. detected the plans and prevented a tragedy; Glover and a companion were arrested on July 4 at a campground near Fort Hood. Eventually seven people were arrested in connection with the group."

    Source: Anti-Defamation League

    They must be secret lefties, planted by Huffpost.

    Posted by crabwalk at 04/14/2009 @ 11:04am

17. One pint .

    Posted by crabwalk at 04/14/2009 @ 06:57am

    No thanks, I don't drink... :-)

    Posted by ACook at 04/14/2009 @ 11:33am

18. No thanks, I don't drink... :-)---Posted by ACook at 04/14/2009 @ 11:33am

    But you DO seem to gamble?

    heheh

    Posted by Mask at 04/14/2009 @ 11:38am

19. How much you wanna bet he conducted states' business on LSU's time?

    Posted by ACook at 04/13/2009 @ 11:53pm

    AC, Do you not know what LSU stands for? That would be Louisiana State Univeristy....from their website....LSU is the flagship university for Louisiana, supporting land, sea and space grant research.

    So, yes, this professor was working for the state. Secondly, part of his job was reporting his findings. What part of this do you have a problem with?!

    What his job description didn't have in it, I'll guarantee you, is that he support the GOP candidates by not coming forward with his findings if they conflicted with the GOP talking points and agenda.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 04/14/2009 @ 11:47am

20. "But yes, ACOOK, much easier to believe that a prof did some work for the state of LA while on the payroll of LSU, and that is cause for termination of his contract....EGADS!!! Nobody that worked for Bush EVER did anything wrong. Never, never never!!"

    Except for President Paulson in Nov 2008. Bad President Paulson!

    Posted by crabwalk at 04/14/2009 @ 07:05am

    Now you're trying to compare mushy apples to mushy oranges. Look, the bottom line is LSU hired Van Heerden to teach, that's it! Once they realized he couldn't fulfill his contractual obligations, they decided to cut their loses.

    Posted by ACook at 04/14/2009 @ 11:50am

21. ACOOK's whole post is full of "bets"....didn't think a good Christian woman would be such a gambler!

    heheh

    Posted by Mask at 04/14/2009 @ 07:46am

    Dunno, I think I could be a pretty good one if someone taught me well enough to play the game. ;-)

    Posted by ACook at 04/14/2009 @ 11:54am

22. LSU hired Van Heerden to teach, that's it! Once they realized he couldn't fulfill his contractual obligations, they decided to cut their loses.

    Posted by ACook at 04/14/2009 @ 11:50am

    AC, Do you know that there are research engineers who never teach any classes working for universities? Those engineers may have degrees ranging from a bachelors, masters or PhD.

    Not all univerisity employees are professors. Also, there are a lot of professors who would be doing students a big favor if they only did research and didn't teach classes. They may be brilliant at research, but suck in front of a class room.

    From your last few postings, it looks like you may never have gone to a university. If you have, then you should have known better to post what you posted.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 04/14/2009 @ 12:13pm

23. Posted by ACook at 04/14/2009 @ 11:54am

    Careful of people that offer to teach you poker, ACOOK....remember John Candy in "Stripes"!

    Posted by Mask at 04/14/2009 @ 12:49pm

24. Now you're trying to compare mushy apples to mushy oranges. Look, the bottom line is LSU hired Van Heerden to teach, that's it! Once they realized he couldn't fulfill his contractual obligations, they decided to cut their loses.

    Posted by ACook at 04/14/2009 @ 11:50am

    Actually no. Being that he is a science professor he is also able to do scientific research. Just like professors at MIT or any other science facility.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/14/2009 @ 6:46pm

25. Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/14/2009 @ 6:46pm

    Bottom line, the man didn't fulfil his obligations.

    Posted by ACook at 04/14/2009 @ 7:40pm

26. Posted by Wolfgang1 at 04/14/2009 @ 11:47am

    Yes, I know what LSU stands for. But the two are still considered separate entities.

    Posted by ACook at 04/14/2009 @ 7:45pm

27. Bottom line, the man didn't fulfil his obligations.

    Posted by ACook at 04/14/2009 @ 7:40pm

    Problem is, you don't know that. He could easily have been teaching while doing this at the same time. There is no actual proof that you have cited to say that he didn't fulfill his obligations. It's easy to see that this isn't a case of conflicting interest because if it was the university would not have cited confidentiality. It tends to be that when someone cites confidentiality it means that the obvious is not the case.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/14/2009 @ 9:35pm

28. Yes, I know what LSU stands for. But the two are still considered separate entities.

    Posted by ACook at 04/14/2009 @ 7:45pm

    Evidently, you don't know what LSU stands for or what a land grant college like LSU is. It is not the GOPU.

    And, LSU is a state run institution and that state would be Louisiana. Exactly how would LSU not fall under the authority of the state of Louisiana?

    A sad state of affairs is the case when scientists are only to report what the politicians of the time tell them is reportable in their findings. Most of the time, their reports and research are swept under the rug or outright taken into the military industrial complex never to be heard from again, or applied to anything else for years as it is.

    Squelching scientific research is nothing short of squelching free speech. What's next, burning science books and banning scientific research?!

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 04/15/2009 @ 06:58am

29. Evidently, you don't know what LSU stands for or what a land grant college like LSU is. It is not the GOPU.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 04/15/2009 @ 06:58am

    And evidentually, it is you that doesn't understand how the State of LA works. All the states (to one degree or another) acts like a corporation with multiple entities. Any corporate lawyer will tell you that within a multi-tiered business, a corporate veil must be kept between parties. Breaching those veils exposes them to undue risks.

    ie. Koch Business owns Georgia Pacific, but they don't run their day-to-day operations. If Koch needs GP to perform some work out at one of their processing mills, they draw up a contract with GP. They're not gonna say "we're taking one of your guys out to the mill to do some work for us." That's a suit waiting to happen. And it's quite common for entities to sue one another.

    The same premise applies to Louisana.

    Posted by ACook at 04/15/2009 @ 12:26pm

30. The same premise applies to Louisana.

    Posted by ACook at 04/15/2009 @ 12:26pm

    Not it doesn't. The state of Louisiana is not a private entity much to the chagrin of rethugs.

    This professor in question was not a civil engineer, and when he said things against the Army Corps of Engineers, they claimed that he didn't have the expertise to say that. No one at LSU, even now, questions his expertise in the field he works and teaches in.

    So, once again, firing him was to shut him up. The administrators were worried that there might be reprecussions from the federal government if the Army Corps of Engineers is slammed by one of their professors for claiming shoddy workmanship and so on by ACoE.

    But, a state entity is a state entity. The governor of the state is basically like the president of the state, and state funds via the state legislature trickle down to the various universities through that system. Private donated money, on the othe hand, is another matter. But public funds which usuaully pay most of the professor's salaries, certainly falls under the blanket of the state. Louisiana included. If they can't show just cause for firing this guy, they may very well have a hell of a law suit on their hands for wrongful discharge of an employee.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 04/15/2009 @ 12:54pm

31. Problem is, you don't know that. He could easily have been teaching while doing this at the same time. There is no actual proof that you have cited to say that he didn't fulfill his obligations. It's easy to see that this isn't a case of conflicting interest because if it was the university would not have cited confidentiality. It tends to be that when someone cites confidentiality it means that the obvious is not the case.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/14/2009 @ 9:35pm

    Ever hear of competing interests? Also, citing confidentiality is standard protocol. It only means the contract between the university and Mr. Van Heerden is under current review by the attorneys to make sure the termination has met all the criteria.

    In otherwords, to make sure the termination is legit and that a suit won't come back and bite them in the you-know-what. Happens all the time.

    Posted by ACook at 04/15/2009 @ 12:54pm

32. In otherwords, to make sure the termination is legit and that a suit won't come back and bite them in the you-know-what. Happens all the time.

    Posted by ACook at 04/15/2009 @ 12:54pm

    I agree about the termination being reviewed. They may backtrack and say, whoops, my bad and that's the end of it, or find something substantial to terminiate him on. From what I've read about it, nothing having to do with his job performance has been in question.

    As far as competing interests, there's such a thing as a non-disclosure form that is usually signed pre-design or research of something. If no non-disclosure agreement had been signed or verbal agreement nor some type of non-disclosure of research by the university, then they can't fire him about saying his "opinion" on a matter related to something he did research on. It's a gray area to be sure.

    It's somewhat ironic though. Universities, public and private, are always rambling on about ethical behavior and ethics, but when it comes to their funding, ethics goes right out the window just like in private industry. Money is the root of all evil.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 04/15/2009 @ 1:32pm

33. Ever hear of competing interests? Also, citing confidentiality is standard protocol. It only means the contract between the university and Mr. Van Heerden is under current review by the attorneys to make sure the termination has met all the criteria.

    In otherwords, to make sure the termination is legit and that a suit won't come back and bite them in the you-know-what. Happens all the time.

    Posted by ACook at 04/15/2009 @ 12:54pm

    Again you don't have proof ACook. You are speculating nothing more. Let's wait til the actual proof comes out.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/15/2009 @ 8:01pm

34. Again you don't have proof ACook. You are speculating nothing more. Let's wait til the actual proof comes out.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/15/2009 @ 8:01pm

    I still think the professor failed to meet his obligations with the university. If you noticed, his contract ends in May 2010, not exactly an immediate dismissal.

    Don't you think that if LSU truly wanted him out they would have fired him back in 2007?

    Posted by ACook at 04/15/2009 @ 8:49pm

35. Posted by Wolfgang1 at 04/15/2009 @ 12:54pm

    I am aware the state of LA is not a private entity, no state is. But it's "basic" premise of doing business mirrors that of the private sector.

    Posted by ACook at 04/15/2009 @ 9:15pm

36. I still think the professor failed to meet his obligations with the university. If you noticed, his contract ends in May 2010, not exactly an immediate dismissal.

    Don't you think that if LSU truly wanted him out they would have fired him back in 2007?

    Posted by ACook at 04/15/2009 @ 8:49pm

    No, they are buying their time because they know how this looks politically.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/15/2009 @ 10:13pm

37. As I understand the history, The Corps of Army Engineers had recommended a level 5 hurricane design decades ago. To get to that would 20-25 years of construction. The fact is, successive administrations and congresses declined to spend that much money. Everyone was satisfied with the level 3 design except for the Army Engineers. To blame them for this is rediculous. Also the Corps do not actually build it, they design it. They are required to use local contractors whenever possible. Now given the history of the supurb business and political practices in The Big Easy what could have possibly gone wrong?

    Posted by pyeatte at 04/15/2009 @ 10:38pm

38. biding*

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/16/2009 @ 06:13am

39. am aware the state of LA is not a private entity, no state is. But it's "basic" premise of doing business mirrors that of the private sector.

    Posted by ACook at 04/15/2009 @ 9:15pm

    This is where we disagree alright. Private business records are not public domain, whereas state records are public domain since the state itself is a public institution, not private.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 04/16/2009 @ 10:25am

40. Now given the history of the supurb business and political practices in The Big Easy what could have possibly gone wrong?

    Posted by pyeatte at 04/15/2009 @ 10:38pm

    Agreed on that point.

    One thing I find ironic on this whole thing is a state official calling foul on a federal agency. Both are public entities.

    This could turn out to be a decision, pyeatte pointed out, where graft was involved and state and federal officials were on the take and settled for second best to increase profits for themselves or the contractors. A little embarrasing either way for the powers that be to have to fess up that they went the cheap route and people died because of it.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 04/16/2009 @ 10:30am

41. LSU serves Southern parents who want to keep their kids far away from foreign (Yankee) ideas. Their primary purpose is to field a good football team. Their leadership will kiss whatever they have to to maintain the facade of a big-league university and win on Saturday. If Huey Long hadn't been fixated on the football program they would be Mississippi State.

    Posted by isitnews at 04/16/2009 @ 2:28pm

42. Geaux Tigers?

    Sorry, just couldn't resist.

    Posted by redhead381 at 04/16/2009 @ 3:10pm