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(orig. posted to ANTHRO-L@listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu)
Date:    Tue, 9 Dec 1997 13:04:00 PST
From:    Leon Deleuil <delel@CURRICULUM.WA.EDU.AU>
Subject: Dr David Rindos

One year ago today, Dr David Rindos died.
There is no doubt in my mind what caused his death. David Rindos died of a
heart attack which was the result of the cumulative and unrelenting pressure
of the continuing battle to redeem his personal and professional reputation
as a result of the decision of the University of Western Australia's
decision to deny him tenure. At the time of his death, a Parliamentary
Committee was investigating the events surrounding that denial of tenure.
That Committee reported their findings just last week on December 4. The
essence of their report was that David Rindos was denied natural justice,
that the procedures of the University were at fault, that the behaviour of
some of those at UWA whose task it was to conduct a fair and comprehensive
internal inquiry into the matter was questionable. In my opinion in the
matter of David Rindos' sacking, the so called 'Rindos Affair', the UWA
administration has  behaved with quite breathtaking duplicity and arrogance.
The UWA response to the Committee report , supported by a rather pompous
editorial in our local newspaper, was that the whole matter had been well
handled by the university, that parliamentarians ought to keep out of
matters academic, that taxpayers money had been wasted, and no, they won't
be paying any money by way of recompense to David's children. The main
players on the UWA side are still there (although a few have skulked off to
other institutions) and they continue to make their noble  pronouncements
and appear smiling at cocktail parties and I guess that eats at me still. To
me, they are collectively the very antithesis of 'The Academy' that David
Rindos valued so highly.
David Rindos was a charming,  colourful man,  fiercely combative  in an
argument (he needed to be as it turned out) but warm and full of  humor
also. And courageous and tough (he needed to be those things too) He was the
sort of person I thought universities existed for but I was clearly wrong.
I guess this message is for Hugh Jarvis, of whom Dave spoke often , but it
is also for those of you who knew David Rindos and respected his work and
achievements and liked him as I did.

Leon Deleuil
delel@curriculum.wa.edu.au

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