A long-simmering row between La Trobe University and a former scholar and prominent member of Melbourne’s Greek community could come to a head early this year, with Anastasios Tamis suing the university after it dumped him from a promised adjunct professor post, according to recent report.
Professor Tamis was head of La Trobe’s National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research, which was found in a review by the university to have “serious problems”.
The NCHSR – also known as the Ethniko Kentro Ellinikon Meleton kai Erevnas – was established by Professor Tamis in 1997 with contributions from the Greek and Cypriot governments and from Melbourne dim sim tsar Zissis Dardalis of Marathon Foods. The Australian reported that Professor Tamis was promised an appointment as adjunct professor if he agreed to retire as senior lecturer in the university’s humanities faculty, after his appointment as executive director of the NCHSR was not renewed.
Professor Tamis, in documents filed with the Federal Court, claims to have been allowed to take five months in annual and long-service leave before taking up the adjunct professorship.
But the university terminated the agreement one month before his return.
Both Professor Tamis and the university declined to comment when contacted.