I recently withdrew from my PhD at the Victoria University of Wellington. I had my $800 phone stolen in June 2012, and by chance in December 2012 I found that the thief had failed to sign out of my Google account. I remotely installed tracking software to the phone and was shocked to find out that the thief was a member of the Campus Care security team who, on the morning the phone had gone missing, had told me he had not found any phone in the building.

I collected a whole bunch of evidence, which was taken to the police. They arrested the thief, a man by the name of Arana Kenny, and charged him with theft. Mr Kenny has admitted taking the phone to police, myself and the university, and is currently before the courts.

However, the university have chosen to carry on employing Mr Kenny in his current position, where he is required to have unsupervised access to buildings.

When I complained and said that I felt uncomfortable with being around him and that I might have to consider withdrawing, Rainsforth Dix, the Associate Director of Campus Operations told me she was satisfied with their internal processes and wished me "All the best for your future."

Professor Laurie Bauer, Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Research, told me there was nothing he could do: he believed that " the actions that were taken were in line with general expectations in the institution." He would do nothing, despite the risks.

Full story here:

Just wanted to update this. Even though Mr Kenny has plead guilty, this is the university's response:

"Employment matters are dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and we must consider a variety of factors in each case.

"The university stands by its decision not to terminate the staff member's employment."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10871091

Hi ckc

Have thought of taking a private course of action and sue the university for damages? Any lawyer will be able to help you.

Hi taka. Thank you for your reply.

Unfortunately, in New Zealand the courts rarely award damages, or even costs if I win in principle. The usual way it works is that people who sue for damages end up with little more than a large legal bill.

As an example, it took ten years of legal battles for a woman who was nearly killed by a former prisoner who the Department of Corrections had failed to properly monitor to get a settlement from them - and that was only $300,000.

The only way legal action becomes realistic is if the university try and claim back part of the doctoral scholarship. Then I'll have little choice but to defend myself, and probably at that point I'll counter-sue for any losses.

hi ckc, thank you for posting here. I'm so sorry to hear about your current situation! From your first post, it reads like you stopped your phd because your phone was stolen by university staff--everything started with that theft and the university was not able to work things out with you.

I do hope things work out and that your life goes back on track again soon.
love satchi

Hi satchi.

Pretty much - I've tolerated everything else that's terrible at the university. It really is an awful place. But being told that the guy that's stolen from you and lied to your face about it is now going to have keys to your building and your office, and nothing else will happen... that's pretty galling.

hi chris
Sharing my WC stories with you :-) In my building, I also left my mobile in the toilet, I hung it up behind the door--and completely forgot about it. I only realised 4 hours later that I had left it behind. It was found by someone who had taken it to the receptionist downstairs. So I got it back. Another time I left my ring at the sink (in another building). I went to a seminar after that and only remembered my ring an hour later. I panicked but then I thought, it is MY ring, it will be waiting for me. Ok I have to admit I ran all the way to back to the toilet---but there it was, still there waiting for me.

what will you do now? I don't mean to be a busybody, but I have to admit I am curious :-)
are you going to leave New Zealand then?

love satchi

Oh, the worst part is that I'd done this at least twice before. But the building isn't a particularly busy one at the best of times, and it was 7.30am. I wasn't worried, but it was a shock when it had gone.

What happens next, itt depends. I've applied to Otago University in Dunedin, but I need a scholarship. If I can't get a scholarship, then my career prospects here are really poor. It's not like the UK. You can't switch to a professional course in a different field after any honours degree. There's no single year law transfer course (too many lawyers here anyway, career prospects are poor), and there's no professional course in accounting like ICAEW or ACCA. You have to go back and do a four year honours degree.

So I'll have to leave NZ and go back to the UK, see about training as an accountant, which is what I was doing before. I can't go back and study because my partner will have to come with me and I need a job for her visa.

hi chris,
maybe a job back here won't be difficult for you to land :-) If I'm not mistaken, the salary for you must be over £20,000 per year to sponsor your partner's dependent visa.

I am puzzled though, as to how you could not proceed with your phd, I mean, surely when you were doing your work, you were not in the company of Mr Kenny. You didn't have to see him when you were doing your work, right? how far in your phd were you?

I'll give you an example of my own experience. I took my masters degree in a European university (not the UK), haha, I won't say which country--but they had lousy library facilities, their internet was always out--their staff was sloppy (honestly), it even took them 6 weeks to get us our student cards (it only takes a few minutes in the UK), there were always delays in getting lab equipment (!!!!), my supervisor was never around etc.etc. I was unhappy, so were my friends, how we grumbled, complained but we stuck it out and at least we have our MSc.

I hope you get the Otago one, though. I'm sure things will work out for you :-)
love satchi

My partner is also a lawyer, so in the skilled migrant category, but graduate accountancy positions start in the 20k range. We should be okay in that respect. I don't dislike accountancy - I just really love audience research. I'm a year into my research, currently writing a chapter on methodology.

Up until this point, the experience was pretty much the same as your European uni: poor facilities, the other staff don't care. Having to call IT every month because my password stopped working. Stuff like that is normal in the NZ context. I can handle that.

See, Mr Kenny would be employed in the same position. We have to use the same buildings. He would have keys to my building, and keys to my office. If I need to call Campus Care, then they can offer no guarantees about who will be sent - I could be face-to-face with him. I'm not a calm person generally, but this makes my blood boil. I snap very quickly - I have a really sharp temper when something's affecting me personally, but professionally, I'm very calm.

But it's not just the theft - it's the way VUW have treated me. As far as they're concerned I'm the problem, and they would rather have a caretaker than a PhD student. They did nothing about informing people about who's got keys to their offices and who'll be around the buildings alone. They actually told me "All the best for your future" when I expressed concerns about campus security and withdrawal. I've been ignored, marginalised and with the suggestion I just not use the campus, I've been effectively punished. I can't do a PhD like that. I feel isolated enough in terms of my work as it is.

My work is considered valuable in an under-researched field, in a growth industry. If VUW don't value it, then I don't want to work there.

:)