Mária Bieliková (source: Sme)
Dean of the Faculty of Informatics and Information Technologies (FIIT) of Slovak University of Technology (STU), Ivan Kotuliak, caused a controversy when he fired his predecessor Mária Bieliková.
He started off an avalanche of protest reactions, a petition signed by 2,500 students, employees and graduates among them.
Not even a week after published information about Bieliková’s notice, it was announced that she could return to the university, the Sme daily reported. Rector of the university Miroslav Fikar stated so during the press conference on January 14, where both Bieliková and Kotuliak were present.
They made a common statement relating that the steps taken after electing the new dean were not beneficial for the development of the faculty and its good name. At the same time, they stated that Bieliková would not run as a member of the academic senate in the scheduled election on January 16.
Her firing came shortly before the election to the academic senate (scheduled on January 16) where she is running as a candidate, the Sme daily reported.
Kotuliak reportedly admitted based on an anonymous complaint alleging the anti-social activity of Bieliková. The investigation has not been closed and therefore it is not clear why Bieliková was being forced to leave.
