Will Tjeerd Andringa be teaching at University College Groningen (UCG) next academic year? The investigation into the disgraced associate professor of cognitive sciences has yet to be finished and might not become public.
Andringa was suspended from teaching on January 31 because of the conspiracy theories he advocated in his classes. Following a high-profile story in UKrant, the UG announced an independent investigation into the matter, the results of which were expected before the summer break.
‘We’ll have to wait a little longer though’, UG spokeswoman Anja Hulshof says. The external investigative committee, chaired by University of Leiden professor Paul van der Heijden, should present the outcome by the end of July. However, that doesn’t mean the report will become public at that time.
‘It will be sent to us and then the university will look at it and discuss it and then take the next steps’, says Hulshof. ‘We don’t know whether it will become public.’
Project Year 2
But if Andringa is suspended at least until the investigation is finished, why does Ocasys – the overview of all UG courses – note ‘Project Year 2’ as an Andringa course for the second semester?
That doesn’t mean anything, emphasises UCG managing director Sander van den Bos. ‘The database is simply a copy each year, and we haven’t yet updated all the courses for 2022/2023. So there is nothing to interpret there.’