Michael Chikindas
Michael Chikindas
Professional photo of Michael Chikindas.
Michael Leonidas Chikindas is a Tenure Professor at Rutgers University known for being accused of Anti-Semitism after he had posted several triggering posts and memes of Jewish stereotypes on his Facebook page. [1]
Personal Life
Born and raised in Armenia, he would later study and live in Russia before becoming a citizen of the United States.
He has stated that he is one-quarter Jewish.
He was once married to a Jewish woman.
Education
Young Michael Chikindas at a lab with his fellow colleagues.
He received his B.S. and M.S. in the Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, at Yerevan State University. He would later live in Russia where he received his Phd in Microbial Genetics from Genetika.
Career
He worked as a researcher in Russia before becoming a microbiologist for Janssen-Cilag in Belgium. After his time in Belgium, he left for the United States where he began his work at Rutgers University in the food science department. He earned his tenure in 2007.
Anti-Semitism Accusations
Post by Michael Chikindas on his Facebook.
In early December, 2017, Chikindas has been accused of Anti-semitism by several people, including some of his colleagues at the University.
On December 8th, 2017, Rutgers President Robert Barchi posted a statement on the University's website ousting Chikindas as director of the Center for Digestive Health at the Institute for
Food, Nutrition, and Health, to allow employees to avoid working for him.
Chikindas will be required to go through a cultural sensitivity program.