The attorneys hired to investigate allegations of academic fraud in the men’s basketball program met with a third former academic counselor Tuesday.
Michael Glazier, head attorney for the investigation, met in a Detroit suburb with Melissa Burns, an academic counselor who quit her job in 1989 because of conflicts with head coach Clem Haskins.
According to published reports, Burns alleges she quit her job as academic counselor after University officials ignored her claims that players had cheated on an exam.
Unlike other academic counselors, Burns said she never wrote papers for players.
Burns alleges she confronted her boss, then-Director of the Academic Counseling Unit Elayne Donahue, after she was approached by a professor who suspected three players of cheating on an exam in a religion class. She was then confronted by Haskins, who questioned why she had not first come to him about the matter. Burns quit two months later.
Burns could not be reached for comment.
The instructor of the class, classical and near eastern studies professor Philip Sellew, could not be reached for comment, but has been reported as stating he does not remember the incident.
The allegations corroborated information Jan Gangelhoff gave to investigators over the weekend. Gangelhoff is the former tutor who came forward with allegations of academic fraud in March.
In discussions between Gangelhoff and investigators, Gangelhoff expressed concerns that other professors may have been suspicious of papers players had written, her attorney Jim Lord said Tuesday.
Lord said professors may have been suspicious because the papers players turned in “may have exceeded (their) expectations.”
Gangelhoff also told investigators that Haskins had advised her “not to write the papers too good,” Lord said.
Professors’ names are still on some of the papers Gangelhoff claims she wrote, Lord added.
After three days’ worth of talks, investigators weren’t yet finished questioning Gangelhoff. Lord said investigators will meet with Gangelhoff on Saturday to review her documents in a more in-depth manner.