Fax, Fiction
As ever, eventually an anonymous tip comes along. This time, it came via fax:
'The longtime director of the Detroit Zoo could lose his $175,000-a-year job after acknowledging that he never received a doctorate in zoology, officials say.
"I feel terrible. It's difficult to face now," Ron Kagan said. "I'm sorry and I know it's damaged the zoo."
The issue came up last Thursday when the Detroit Zoo Society's board of directors received an anonymous fax stating that Kagan had misrepresented his academic qualifications on his resume, zoo spokeswoman Patricia Mills said.
Zoo Society Chairman Gail Warden said Kagan, 55, admitted it when confronted about the letter.
Kagan said he completed his course work at Hebrew University in Jerusalem during the mid-1980s, but was never formally granted the degree. He returned to Israel twice but couldn't settle the matter and eventually gave up, The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press reported.
Kagan holds a bachelor's degree in zoology from the University of Massachusetts. He received a master's degree from Hebrew University in 1980, Mills said.
The zoo director's job does not require a doctorate, but an executive committee was scheduled to meet today to decide whether to recommend action to the full board, Warden said.
"You have to take into consideration his track record, (his) many, many accomplishments and the impact it would have on the community if we ask him to step down," Warden said.'
---grand haven tribune---
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