But reflecting upon his experiences, one graduate student in the department, an advisee of Witzel's, said Witzel lacked administrative and leadership skills.

"He's a good scholar," said the student, who requested anonymity. "He's not a good administrator."

Personality Conflicts

As chair and director of graduate studies of the department, Witzel played a major role in helping students plan their course of study.

But several graduate students cited personality conflicts with Witzel, call- ing him an academic who could not relate well with others.

Speaking with Witzel in his cluttered office, one is surrounded by a pile of books. He sits in the office with the lights turned off.

A graduate student, who requested anonymity, called the native of Poland a "tyrant."

"Witzel brought old European school attitudes," the student said. "The chair as tyrant. He could never adjust to the wider, more democratic, American approach."

When asked if he ran his department with a heavy hand, Witzel responded with a discussion of leadership styles.

One's outlook on a chair, Witzel said, "depends upon your individual perspective." Witzel, who was educated in West Germany, saw his chairs as "father figures."

Witzel, by all accounts, takes his academic pursuits seriously.

"[Witzel] is flexible if you work with him one-on-one," said a student who requested anonymity. "You have to come up with your own game plan, but he's very creative."

One graduate student relates the story of an attack Witzel made over the Indology Net-an e-mail subscription group that discusses Sanskrit studies-against a professor at the University of Chicago.

The graduate student said Witzel criticized the professor because they have had personal disagreements.

Witzel, however, said the dispute was entirely professional.

When asked about the incident, Witzel rushed for his bookshelf and pulled out a translation of a Sanskrit text and turned to a page covered with yellow dots.