Almaty, 17th December 2007 Michael, Thanks for the use of your apartment. I read both of your “Lady” books1. Very interesting. Tried to separate fact from fiction; was not completely sure how well I did. With all the things going on in our department and KIMEP in general, I decided that it wasn’t a place I wanted to be. I appreciate all your help and your friendship and am truly sorry for leaving so abruptly. Not for KIMEP but for you. I don’t think you were treated fairly or with the respect you deserve – I also know they made offers to other potential new hires for more than they were paying me. It’s not the money as much as equity and fairness. I know they offered the banker fellow $100,000 and a full Professor while keeping Simon [Tai] at Associate. This guy had only held a lecturer’s position in his entire career. Anyway, I’m going home to the cows, fruit trees and vegetable garden. Will probably spend the next few months preparing tax returns. Michael, again I apologize for my unannounced departure. Take care, Herschel Philpott
Michael – I wrote you a note, too! Michael – I hope you had a wonderful vacation time with your family during the holidays. I also would like to thank you for opening up your home to us. It really did help us a lot. Herschel had planned to stay and I was going back alone. But when he realized how KIMEP was not operating fairly and above-board, he decided it was not worth staying. My original ticket was for Jan. 1st but when we got paid on the 14th we got the tickets to go home on the 18th. (I’m already there in my mind ☺) I must tell you that once Herschel began reading your first book, he couldn’t lay it down. He went right to the second book. He really enjoyed them – more so I think because he knows the author. Your books were a large part of your conversation following. If you write another you will have to let Herschel know and should you decide to disclose fact from fiction in them to him – he’ll really be interested. His email address is hphilpott@msn.com. Mine is debphilpott@msn.com.
Lady of Isan. The story of a Mixed Marriage from Northeast Thailand. 2/e Pattaya: ThaiSunset Publications, 2004, ISBN974-93678-7-1; and Lady of Pattaya. ThaiSunset Publications, 2005, ISBN 974-93466-9-6
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Keep in touch. We hope things go well for you at KIMEP. You have a course load deduction and much fewer admin headaches so the Spring Semester should be much funnier for you ☺. Take care, Debbie
NOTE by Michael Schemmann, PhD, CPA, CMA, Associate Professor Both of the Philpotts had Master’s degrees. He in business administration, she in education and was working on her doctoral dissertation at Indiana Wesleyan University in the USA. Both of them were licensed CPAs in the State of Indiana. Their salary level was $50,000 per annum each. The paid $2,200 rent per month for their two bedroom apartment in Almaty. They had come to Almaty in August 2007, paying their own air fare and relocation expenses. The Philpotts were both very popular Assistant Professors, teaching accounting courses (4 sections each). Their student evaluations were about 4.6 on a scale of 5 or higher. Debbie encountered medical problems from the stress at KIMEP, she said, and the environmental pollution in Almaty. She caught bronchial pneumonia at the onset winter and lost 24 pounds. Herschel’s wrote an instruction manual entitled “Management Accounting” that was printed pro bono by KPMG for free distribution to our students. Three thousand copies were printed, two thousand delivered. Herschel’s application for a research project to write a follow-up book was approved in part, but without a reduction in course load. My repeated requests to the dean, Sang Hoon Lee, Ph.D., to adjust the Philpotts salaries to $70,000 per annum were rejected by not responding. Debbie’s request for leave of absence to return home, both for health reasons and because she was unable to obtain the resources at KIMEP’s library, was declined by the Vice President of Academic Affairs, as he then was, Dr. H. Rahman on grounds that leave of absence would normally granted after two years of teaching or more. In the end, both of them left KIMEP after teaching one semester: the fall semester of 2007.