“MIIS probes lecturer's credentials” |
| MIIS probes lecturer's credentials Posted: 19 Nov 2010 01:51 AM PST The Monterey Institute of International Studies is investigating the background of a lecturer whose credentials as a retired Green Beret officer and human trafficking expert have come under question. The check on Bill Hillar's background was prompted by questions that arose last week among students and a Web chat site about Hillar's military service record, MIIS spokesman Jason Warburg said Thursday. A profile page about Hillar, which has been removed from the institute's website, described Hillar as a retired colonel of Army Special Forces who served in Asia, the Middle East, and Central and South America. It said Hillar has a doctorate in health education and has advised foreign governments and military organizations. "The situation is that questions have been raised about his military credentials, in particular, and we're looking into them," Warburg said. Phone messages to Hillar, who has a Carmel post office box, were not returned Thursday. Hillar taught a MIIS workshop this fall in human trafficking, Warburg said. He has taught counterterrorism workshops during the past five years. "He typically was brought in to teach a course or two," Warburg said. On several websites, Hillar is linked to the 2008 film "Taken," which starred Liam Neeson as a spy whose daughter is kidnapped and sold into the Asian sex industry. Hillar, an advocate against human sex trafficking, this month won an award from Elon University in North Carolina for his work against the female sex slave trade, the university newspaper said. The school paper said "Taken" was loosely based on Hillar's life and the 1988 kidnapping abroad of a 16-year-old daughter.Questions about the accuracy of Hillar's military record were raised on a Web chat site called Professional Soldiers, which describes itself as being owned and operated by "quiet professionals and ... dedicated to the Special Services soldier." The University of Oregon, where Hillar had been an instructor for about eight years, is checking his background, a university spokesman said Thursday. The school is looking into assertions that Hillar had a doctorate from the university. "Our records show he didn't receive the degree" after being in a doctoral program in health from 1970 to 1973, said university spokesman Joe Mosley. A website for Bill Hillar Training was down Thursday, but a client list downloaded earlier from the site contained two pages of federal, state and private agencies, schools and other organizations. The site said Hillar's training services included "consulting and training for high-risk occupations and speaking on leadership, ethics, stress and creativity." On Monday, MIIS President Sunder Ramaswamy sent an e-mail to staff, faculty and students announcing its "research on the issues" raised about Hillar's "military and professional credentials." The MIIS spokesman said Hillar's profile page was removed from the school's website because he was neither a full professor nor an adjunct professor, but an independent contractor. "His profile shouldn't have been posted," Warburg said. "It was removed around the same time those questions came up." Warburg said MIIS will do a thorough and diligent investigation and "arrive at a judgment when we have all the facts." He said the school has made an inquiry to the military about Hillar and his ties to the Special Forces, but hasn't received a response. He said the school has tried to contact Hillar, but "we have not had any response to date." Larry Parsons can be reached at 646-4379 or lparsons@montereyherald.com. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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