More on the Dennis Polla Situation

at the

University of Minnesota

There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding of this situation at the University of Minnesota based on comments on the Star-Tribune web-site.  Since the original article was behind a firewall until today, earlier comments were not available until today. There have also been many more put up today that are worth reading.

I posted a link previously to a pdf of the original investigation that was done by the U of M in this matter.

The conclusion of the report is:

“This investigation also concluded that Dr. Polla has engaged in four types of improprieties in his private consulting activities.

First, he failed properly to disclose and obtain prior approval before proceeding with arrangements where there may be a conflict of interest.

Second, he improperly used U of M resources for the benefit of his private clients, and failed to provide the U of M an opportunity to oversee use of its resources.

Third, he concealed or attempted to conceal from the U of M relevant information regarding his private consulting.

Fourth, as a result of the manner in which he conducted his private consulting, Dr. Polla created problematic situation involving intellectual property interests of the U of M and some of his private clients.”

Whether someone like this should be managing a program in Technology Leadership at the University of Minnesota is a good question that I intend to explore in the future.  This question is also related to the Saifort/Jacko and Sviggum situations at the U.

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