Mike Greene Promoted to Chair of Integrative Biology After Spreading Lie That an Antiracist Colleague Published in a Predatory Journal

Ziad K. Abdelnour made the famous quote "Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots.”

One of the most damaging rumors that can be made about a professor is that they publish their work in predatory journals. Even if the rumor is false, idiots will accept it as truth, and may even spread it further. The result is catastrophic to the career of a scholar. Mike Greene, Chair of the University of Colorado Denver Department of Integrative Biology, knowingly and maliciously spread the false rumor that Professor Greg Cronin published his scholarly work about Haiti in a predatory journal.

Ironically, work on predatory journals began at the University of Colorado Denver. Jeffrey Beall was a faculty member at CU Denver when he created his famous list, Beall's List. Because of the controversy and legal threats associated with Beall's list, CU Denver pressured Prof. Beall into early retirement. In recent years, the proliferation of predatory journals has posed a significant threat to the integrity of academic publishing. These journals often promise rapid publication and low fees, attracting unwary researchers eager to disseminate their work. However, the reality is far more insidious, as publishing in such outlets can have dire consequences for an academic's career and the reputation of their affiliated institutions.

Mike Greene, John Swallow, CU Counselors, Deans, Chancellors, and Regents had months to learn about the difference between Atlas Publishing, Inc and the ATLAS. The former is on Beall's List and is considered a predatory publisher. The latter, ATLAS, is not on Beall's List, is not predatory, and it publishes the Transdisciplinary Journal of Engineering and Science where I have published my peer-reviewed work from Haiti. I am confident that you can understand the differences between Atlas Publishing, Inc. and the ATLAS by looking at their web pages for a few minutes. Atlas Publishing, Inc. is found on Beall's List, and does not publish the Transdisciplinary Journal of Engineering and Science. The Academy of Transdisciplinary Learning and Advanced Studies (The ATLAS) in not on Beall's list, and does publish the Transdisciplinary Journal of Engineering and Science.

Mike Greene first spread the false rumor that Prof. Cronin published in a predatory journal in a letter that he and the tenured faculty (Profs. Michael Wunder, Diana Tomback, Brad Stith, Timberley Roane, Charles Ferguson, Laurel Hartley, Chris Piehl, and Alan Vajda) of the Dept. of Integrative Biology wrote to then-Chair John Swallow on Aug. 23, 2019. In addition to the false accusation of publishing in a predatory journal, they falsely characterized my peer-reviewed publications in legitimate journals as "opinion essays" and "slanderous", writing "His three opinion essays were cited only by himself and as external reviewers pointed out, these were published in predatory journals and were described as “slanderous”." Chair Greene has no shame, as he has published less than me, his papers get cited less than mine do, and he includes papers written by other scientists who share his name.

On Oct. 3, 2019, I attended a meeting with Mike Greene, Mike Wunder, Nelia Vivieros, Kathleen Bollard, and Brad Stith to create a "Development Plan" for my work at CU Denver. During the meeting, I corrected the false rumor that had been accepted by these fools and idiots (sensu Abdelnour). You can hear the audio for yourself here. Mike Greene is the voice that claims he has no control over things even though he wrote the letter that spread the lie, and follows all of his statements with "right?". Mike Greene knew after this meeting that I had not published in a predatory journal, but he did nothing to correct the record with our colleagues. Prof. Mike Wunder, in addition to accusing me of publishing in a predatory journal, said that I insulted him. The idiot who obviously accepted the lie and was unwilling to hear the truth once interrupted me during a faculty meeting, holding a manuscript above his head and loudly repeating “Get me off your fucking mailing list. Get me off your fucking mailing list. Get me off your fucking mailing list.” The paper that Mike Wunder was referencing repeats the same phrase 863 times. While "Get me off your fucking mailing list" is a humorous example of a predatory journal, there is nothing funny about having your scholarly work compared to it.

On Oct. 13, 2019 I wrote the following response to the accusations about my publishing of work in Haiti. The entire quote is provided to preserve context. "Fact: Dr. Cronin would have had four sole-authored, peer-reviewed publications in nonpredatory journals or book chapter, if not for the unethical, illegal, libelous letter sent to editors by Chair Swallow and Assoc. Chair Tomback. Cronin 2014 defines the transdisciplinary scholarly approach, which is a very significant contribution. Cronin and Briggle 2018 describes the subdiscipline of Applied Ecology, which is also a very important contribution. A Chair of the Applied Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America stated that such a paper was needed. Cronin 2015 and the related Cronin 2017 were retracted because Chair Swallow and Assoc. Chair Diana Tomback wrote a libelous letter to the editors of ATLAS. Cronin 2015 was described as important and brave, and praised by several colleagues outside of IB. Dr. Cronin wrote a fifth sole-authored paper based on a conference paper titled "Institutional Racism Counter-Storytelling: Willful Racist Decisions Against Haitians Harmed A White Professor’s Career". The journal asked permission of CU Denver to publish this truthful manuscript that revealed individual and institutional racism, but CU Denver did not support the publishing of this paper. It is enclosed, and will be resubmitted after updating with other examples of racism at CU Denver. Cronin 2014 and Cronin 2015 were published in the non-predatory Transdisciplinary Journal of Engineering and Science by the Academy of Transdisciplinary Learning and Advanced Studies (theATLAS.org). ATLAS did not charge Dr. Cronin anything (i.e., $0.00, no page-charges, fees, or anything) to publish these peer-reviewed papers. ATLAS is not on Beall's list, and was prepared to publish Cronin 2017 in their non-predatory, peer-reviewed book "Transdisciplinary Theory and Practice". There is amazing hypocrisy that the University of Colorado Denver would evoke Beall's list to slander Dr. Cronin's publication record after Prof. Beall wrote "In January 2017, facing intense pressure from my employer, the University of Colorado Denver, and fearing for my job, I shut down the blog and removed all its content from the blog platform." Nelia Viveiros informed me that Mr. Beall is no longer employed at CU Denver."

On April 9, 2020, Mike Greene wrote to CU Counselor Chris Puckett, HR Director Doug Kasyon, and VC Nelia Vivieros "I also had served on Dr. Cronin's IPA and Development Plan committees which I think relates to him referring to me as libelous. To be clear, I did sign the letter but neither I, nor the co-authors, stated directly that he published in a predatory journal; that was said by one of the outside reviewers but was reported in the letter." Referring to Ziad K. Abdelnour, Mike Greene is saying that he is not a hater, he is just a fool and idiot. He also fails to mention that I spelled out the truth about not publishing in a predatory journal verbally and in writing.

On Aug. 5, 2020, Mike Greene testified under oath at my dismissal hearing that I published in a predatory journal. The following testimony shows the lie, the intent, and that CU Counsel cared more about protecting a lying witness than getting to the truth. You can see that Mike Greene brought up Beall and predatory journals before I asked him about them.

Cronin: Dr. Greene, is it possible for there to be a high quality, innovative journal in a new field that is not on the ISI journal list?

Greene: Oh, I'm sure there is. It's just not what our criteria state. I don't think -- all I can do, being on the merit review committee, is use our criteria, right? And I'll add that the ATLAS is on the Beall list. This is one reason why -- you know, we all know there are limitations to the h-indexes, and so forth, it's only one piece of evidence, but I think it's worked well for our faculty overall. But this journal and this publisher is on the predatory list, at least as of today when I checked. And sure, maybe there's a way -- I'm sure there are journals who don't have ISI ranking, I don't think that's in debate, that could later get it.

Cronin: Dr. Greene, I want to inform you that you have just repeated a falsehood that you have passed to the dean's office, that has made its way all the way up to an ad hoc committee, the provost, the chancellor, and has resulted or at least contributed to my dismissal hearing. In my opening statement I told University counsel that if they could demonstrate that Cronin 2015, which is shown on the screen right now, was published in a predatory journal, that I would forfeit my tenure, resign right now, and we could save ourselves a lot of trouble. You -- you say the Atlas, Inc. is on Beall's list. That is true. Atlas, Inc. is a journal clearinghouse. The ATLAS is the Academy for Transdisciplinary Learning and Advanced Studies. They are two completely different entities. Basically,what you have done with your letters is slandered me and you've slandered this fine journal. I plan on notifying the editor. I'll share the emails that you have with me because they need to know that this is taking place. This is --

MS. WESTON (CU Attorney): At this point, Dr. Cronin, I'm going to object.

DR. CRONIN: Okay.

MS. WESTON: You're now -- this is not a forum for you to be accusing Professor Greene of

slander. Please return to the questions.

DR. CRONIN: Okay.

Co-conspirator John Swallow was also a fool and idiot at my dismissal hearing, repeating the lie about me publishing in a predatory journal as though it was the truth. Repeating a lie should not make it the truth, but idiots at the University of Colorado who want to get rid of an antiracist lacks the integrity and intelligence to know better.

The Impact on Academic Careers

Publishing in predatory journals can have overwhelming effects on an academic’s career. Firstly, articles in these outlets are often of low quality, lacking rigorous peer review processes. This can damage the author's credibility and hinder future publication opportunities in reputable venues. Secondly, tenure and promotions are often contingent upon an individual’s publication record. Academics who publish in predatory journals may find themselves at a disadvantage when competing for these crucial milestones.

Moreover, universities risk their reputations by associating with scholars who publish in disreputable journals. Faculty members’ success is reflective of their institution’s standing; thus, a spike in predatory publishing could tarnish the reputation of an entire university. As the academic community continues to strive for excellence and integrity, the dangers of predatory journals will likely remain a pressing concern.

Finally, the University of Colorado Denver should have the worst reputation possible. They got rid of Jeffrey Beall for creating Beall's List. CU Denver fired a tenured professor because Mike Greene, John Swallow, and others lied about me publishing in a predatory journal. I objected, informed them of the mistake, and the lie was repeated and used during CU's efforts to dismiss me. The Regents did not want this information exposed, so they broke the law and fired me without a public hearing.