The co-founder and former CEO
of Clinc, an Ann Arbor artificial
intelligence
startup
with
ties
to the University of Michigan’s
College of Engineering, is facing
claims of sexual harassment. Jason
Mars’s behavior was investigated
after Clinc received two official
complaints from employees in
December. He stepped down as
CEO Feb. 10 in response to the
investigation.
An article published in The
Verge Thursday morning detailed
reports of sexually inappropriate
behavior from Mars, who is
currently
a
tenured
associate
professor of electrical engineering
and computer science at the
University and the co-director of
the University’s Clarity-Lab, an AI
research group. The Verge based
its reporting on accounts from 13
current and former employees,
including some who studied under
Mars at the University, in addition
to leaked phone calls, emails and
documents.
Mars founded Clinc in 2015
with his wife Lingjia Tang and
University
alumni
Michael
Laurenzano
and
Johann
Hauswald. The company, which
creates intelligent chatbots, has
worked with clients including
Ford, Sprint and USAA and has
raised approximately $60 million
in investments.
Clinc has a close relationship
with
the
University.
Mars
currently
teaches
EECS
498,
section 3, a conversational artificial
intelligence class that uses Clinc’s
platform. Tang is also a computer
science professor at the University.
The
claims
against
Mars
published by The Verge describe
verbal and physical harassment
of Clinc employees and business
partners, as well as misuse of
company funds.
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Witness
Lab
is
an
architectural
courtroom
installation
and
a
performance
series
by
Courtney
McClellan,
Roman J. Witt Artist in
Residence at the School of
Art & Design. On Feb. 17,
about 100 people attended
the Artist Talk featuring
McClellan, hosted by the
University
of
Michigan
Museum
of
Art,
which
explored
the
role
of
witnesses in society and
how
humans
understand
truth in our legal system.
From February to May,
Witness
Lab
will
host
a series of public trial
simulations, theater and
trial advocacy workshops
that invite the audience to
reflect on the role of truth
in society. Art & Design
students
will
document
the performances through
drawing, photography, text
and video. The accumulated
products will result in the
publication of a book.
While
discussing
her
inspirations,
McClellan
talked about her upbringing
in a community of lawyers
and
teachers
and
her
experience
studying
journalism at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill. She acknowledged that
though she did not pursue
a
career
in
journalism,
journalistic methodologies
have stayed with her and
became an integral aspect
of her artistic production.
When she was teaching at
the University of Georgia,
McClellan said she followed
and observed the mock trial
team for three years.
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Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail
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INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 72
©2020 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
CL A SSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
‘Mobilize’
declares
candidacy
for CSG
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
ALEX HARRING
Daily News Editor
Artist explores role of witness in society,
understanding truth in legal system
Courtney McClellan explains philosophy behind new art installation at UMMA
ACADEMICS
Follow The Daily
on Instagram,
@michigandaily
Mobilize, a Central Student
Government party “dedicated to
running a campaign that prioritizes
and empowers the voices of all
students,” announced its intention
on Monday night to have a slate
of students seek CSG seats in the
March election. Mobilize is the first
party to publicly share its formation.
In an interview with The Daily,
Public
Policy
junior
Amanda
Kaplan,
Mobilize’s
presidential
candidate, said she and her vice
presidential candidate, LSA junior
Sav Nandigama, will operate as a
team if elected. Kaplan said their
campaign is about listening to
student voices and this theme starts
at the top of the ticket.
“It’s not one person at the top
of a ticket saying I want to run for
president, now let me find a team
of people behind me,” Kaplan
said. “Sav and I literally sat in a
room together, decided together
that we wanted to run and then
said, ‘Okay, let’s flip a coin and see
who’s going to be president and
vice president,’ because, to us, it’s
truly a partnership, and it’s really
emblematic of the way that we’re
running our campaign, where it’s
not just about one person or an
executive ticket.
LOLA YANG
For The Daily
RYAN LITTLE/Daily
Roman Witt artist in residence Courtney McClellan explores how performance afffects a courtroom at the UMMA Monay evening.
Catherine Badgley,
Residential College
members speak on
diversity, inclusion
SUNSKRITI PARANJAPE
Daily Staff Reporter
See ALLEGATIONS, Page 2
DANYEL THARAKAN/Daily
Former Clinc CEO Jason Mars, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at U-M, has been accused of sexual harassment and verbal abuse.
Senate Assembly discusses civic
engagement on University campus
See SENATE, Page 3
See RC, Page 3
Party looks to engage
campus organizations
leading up to schoolwide
election in late March
See MOBILIZE, Page 3
ALICE TRACEY
Daily Staff Reporter
‘U’ professor faces allegations of
sexual harassment, abusive behavior
Jason Mars, CEO of artifical intelligence startup Clinc, steps down from
executive position in response to multiple misconduct accusations
The University of Michigan’s
Residential College hosted a talk
in East Quadrangle Residence
Hall on Monday with Catherine
Badgley, director of the RC and
head of the Science, Technology
and Society program. The RC is
a multidisciplinary liberal arts
program within the College of
LSA and is one of LSA’s Michigan
Learning Communities.
The
event
facilitated
conversations
about
building
community, increasing diversity
and exploring the identity of the
RC. About 10 members of the RC
community attended the event,
including students, faculty and
staff.
The
discussion
began
with attendees sharing their
interpretations
of
what
the
identity of the RC truly is. Badgley
commented on the curiosity and
open-mindedness of RC students.
“I find RC students extremely
curious,” Badgley said. “Despite
the fact that I think we have a
reputation of being kind of on
a certain part of the political
spectrum, I also find RC students
fairly open-minded in terms of
being willing to consider a wide
range of ideas.”
RC hosts
chat with
program
director
SACUA chair
talks Philbert
investigation,
student voting
The University of Michigan
Senate Advisory Committee
on University Affairs met at
Palmer
Commons
Monday
afternoon to discuss how to
increase
civic
engagement
on campus in advance of the
upcoming primary elections.
SACUA Chair Joy Beatty
first
began
the
meeting
by
addressing
the
sexual
misconduct
allegations
against Martin A. Philbert,
provost and executive vice
president
for
academic
affairs. She said she emailed
University
President
Mark
Schlissel before this meeting
regarding the matter, then
read from his response to her
email.
“While the allegations are
serious,
the
investigation
being
conducted
by
an
independent
outside
law
firm is not yet complete and
everyone
should
reserve
final judgments until that
point,”
Beatty
read
from
Schlissel’s
email.
“We
all
need to encourage people to
come forward if they have
any information on prohibited
conduct. The fact that people
came
forward
to
report
misconduct is a positive sign.”
Beatty
also
explained
changes
proposed
by
the
Senate Assembly, including
the
realignment
of
the
committees. Instead of having
nine
standing
committees
as there are now, the Senate
Assembly proposed to move to
six standing committees and
one ad hoc committee, which
gathers only as needed.
“The downside of having
an ad hoc committee is that if
you got something that needs
to be done quickly and you got
to pull together a committee,
I think it will be difficult,”
Beatty said. “It seems like
a type of committee where
it would really help to have
people who have the expertise
(on
the
bylaws),
whether
they’re from law, from policy
or some unit like that.”
Gina
Cervetti,
associate
professor
of
the
School
of Education and chair of
Student Relations Advisory
Committee,
discussed
the
committee’s
role
in
civic
engagement on campus.
See WITNESS, Page 3
SAINI KETHIREDDY
Daily Staff Reporter