Former University professor Ivor van Heerden filed a lawsuit against the University claiming his contract was not renewed because of his outspoken criticism of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.Van Heerden filed suit yesterday for monetary relief from the University Board of Supervisors; Brooks Keel, former vice chancellor for research and economic development; Robert Twilley, associate vice chancellor for research and economic development; George Voyiadjis, chair of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department; and David Constant, graduate school dean.For reasons not fully disclosed by the University, van Heerden’s contract was not renewed in April 2009.”When they terminated my position, they told me it was nothing to do with the economy or my performance and they didn’t have to supply a reason,” van Heerden said.The suit claims Constant — who served van Heerden his notice of non-renewal — declined to give a reason for the notice.Following the widespread flooding during Hurricane Katrina, van Heerden — then an associate professor and researcher — led a research group investigating the cause of the disastrous flooding in the Crescent City. The group’s research led van Heerden to believe failures in the Corps’ engineering were responsible for the levee failings blamed for 90 percent of the flooding and 50 percent of the associated deaths.Following a U.S. Senate testimony in which van Heerden was critical of the New Orleans levees, which failed during Katrina, van Heerden claims he was reprimanded by former vice chancellors Harold Silverman and Michael Ruffner for his criticisms.The suit claims Silverman and Ruffner admonished van Heerden for his criticisms and claimed he was jeopardizing University prospects for federal funding. Van Heerden saw this as infringement on his academic freedom and free speech as well as a threat to his job.In April 2007 plaintiffs against the Corps in litigation relating to the Mississippi Gulf Outlet sought out van Heerden as an expert witness. Van Heerden’s suit claims then Chancellor Sean O’Keefe told an attorney for the plaintiffs that van Heerden would be fired if he testified against the Corps.”They were responding from outside pressures from people who didn’t want unfavorable science to come out on the Corps,” van Heerden said. “They also tried to discredit my qualifications because they knew I was going to be an expert witness.”Van Heerden also claimed administrators manipulated his contract before removing him.”Although the decision not to renew Ivor van Heerden’s contract was made before I came to LSU, I have carefully reviewed the process that led to that decision and am confident that the process was handled appropriately,” Chancellor Michael Martin said in a prepared statement Wednesday.Van Heerden also accused the defendants of libel and slander stemming from their comments claiming van Heerden lacked scientific expertise and was misleading the public with irresponsible information.—–Contact Xerxes A. Wilson at [email protected]