Suit: Professor Coerced Grad Students Into Working at His Company

A professor of engineering at Michigan State University forced two of his graduate students to work for little to no pay at his personal company and was “abusive” in temperament, according to a federal lawsuit. The university allegedly knew about the situation in 2011 but took no action to protect the students. Parviz Soroushian, the professor, told the Lansing State Journal that he denies all the allegations against him. He has reportedly been on paid administrative since July, when the university began an investigation into his conduct. The university declined comment on the pending litigation.