11/02/2026

To the attention of the Rector of Masaryk University, the Dean, the Academic Senate, and the academic community of the Faculty of Arts,

We are writing as the doctoral candidates formerly supervised by Prof. Ivan Foletti at the Department of Art History of Masaryk University.

We learned of the Dean’s decision to dismiss Prof. Foletti following an internal investigation that identified repeated violations of the University’s Code of Ethics. We acknowledge the decision and wish to express our empathy and solidarity with all who may have been harmed by the professor’s conduct.

That being said, this letter constitutes a formal complaint regarding the unacceptable manner in which the Dean’s Board of the Faculty of Arts and the responsible authorities of the Department of Art History have handled this situation with respect to us, the doctoral candidates directly affected by these events. From the moment of Prof. Foletti’s precautionary suspension, we were abruptly deprived of the possibility to communicate with, receive feedback from, or work under the guidance of our supervisor, without any clear explanation, a proper timeline, or accompanying measures. Since then, we have encountered serious and ongoing issues that sometimes differ in our individual cases.

However, they can be summarised as follows:

1.  Deficiency in effective communication.

Except for the notification of Prof. Foletti’s suspension and ultimate dismissal, no clear or effective communication was established with us, nor active guidance was provided, despite our repeated requests.

Furthermore, requests for confidentiality conflicted with the lack of communication on the part of the University with third parties involved in our work – such as consultants, second supervisors, or partner universities –, leaving us with the responsibility of navigating the consequences of the situation and taking accountability for the measures taken.

2.  Absence of substitutive measures and academic safeguards.

We were suddenly deprived of supervision, with no adequate replacement or interim solution. As of now (11 February 2026), no concrete tools, procedures, or support mechanisms have been put in place to manage this foreseeable emergency, despite the fact that the investigation had reportedly been ongoing for several semesters, with the suspension being effective since 17 October 2025. As a result, we were forced to manage our doctoral work without sufficient academic support and feedback.

That had inevitable consequences for our research progress and caused delays that are directly affecting our academic outputs and careers (e.g. applying for post-doc positions without a supervisor’s letter of recommendation). This demonstrates a serious lack of preparation and a failure to protect our legitimate interests and rights as doctoral students.

3.  Mismanagement and exclusion from information.

We find it unacceptable that no provision was made for Prof. Foletti’s students directly affected by the situation. Instead, on 4 February 2026, the Dean convened a meeting designed for the students of the entire Department. However, the meeting was not conceived as a session to “restore trust” in the Department – as the Dean’s email had promised – but functioned as a platform for reading a prepared statement and denouncing Professor Foletti’s failings, without providing any opportunity for constructive or concrete measures.

Furthermore, despite the invitation being bilingual and more than half of the doctoral candidates concerned being international students, the meeting was conducted mostly in Czech. The Dean provided a very brief and superficial English summary orally, one that even failed to inform regarding the type of accusations that Prof. Foletti has faced. Our request for an English translation of the initial statement was quickly dismissed, with the explanation that the Dean could potentially provide it later; however, we have not yet received it. We find this approach unacceptable, discriminatory, and deeply disrespectful. It violates our rights as students and contradicts the reputation of Masaryk University as an international institution.

4.  Lack of empathy, protection, and public accountability.

Despite the Dean’s claims of responsibility towards all students and employees of the Faculty, we have perceived a complete lack of empathy and care toward us (as students ourselves) throughout this process. Notwithstanding our position, we complied so far with the invitation to remain patient and to understand the difficulties of dealing with an unprecedented situation.

At no point were we informed that the investigation extended beyond a specific scope, namely the assessment of the professor’s conduct. Yet, the Ombudsperson diminished the integrity of all individuals within Re:Cent or among Prof. Foletti’s students (information publicly available) [Ad 4.1]. The use of this rhetoric has consequently led to oversimplifications and unjustified offenses against Prof. Foletti’s collaborators and students, without any supporting probative basis [Ad 4.2]. For example, we note that most international employees and PhD students were not even called to testify during the investigation – an omission that might be acceptable if they were deemed irrelevant to the facts under examination, but which becomes unacceptable when an entire academic environment and the students supervised by Prof. Foletti have been subsequently publicly discredited. We firmly believe that the quality and results of our research, and our concrete contributions to the Department, speak for themselves and refute such insinuations.

Finally, we would like to express our concerns that such narratives might be amplified in the future, having the potential to harm our academic credibility and, at present, to place us in an uncomfortable position as we are confronted with them at our workplace.

Ad 4.1. An article in Deník N quotes these formulations from the final report of the investigation: the research group is described as “a small group of loyal supporters” (úzká skupina loajálních příznivců), “an unfairly created privileged elite, which Professor Foletti had built up around himself in a very unhealthy way” (nespravedlivě vytvořená privilegovaná elita, již kolem sebe značně nezdravým způsobem vytvořil profesor Foletti), that exists in “a manipulative environment with an atmosphere of fear” (manipulativní prostředí s atmosférou strachu).

Ad 4.2. We would like to present an example – among others that have occurred and that we are unable to substantiate beyond the testimonies of some of us – with this addendum, submitted in good faith for the purpose of supporting our claims. A Professor of this faculty published the following comment on the social media platform Facebook:

“[...] he [Ivan Foletti] was admired only by naive and gullible people who had little experience with international research standards” (ale obdivovali ho jen naivní a důvěřiví lidé, kteří měli málo zkušeností s mezinárodními standardy výzkumu).

We are documenting this comment as it was publicly expressed. Should the University authorities require proof, we are able to provide a screenshot.

While we recognize that faculty members are entitled to express personal views, we wish to formally note our concern about the context in which these statements were made and the potential effect they may have within an academic environment.

Given these premises, we advance three requests:

●  An apology addressed to the doctoral students concerned;

●      Immediate, concrete measures to ensure our academic protection, supervision, and the continuity of our doctoral projects in a fair environment;

●      Formal recognition of Prof. Ivan Foletti’s academic work in our doctoral research. We have been informed that Prof. Foletti may be mentioned as our supervisor on the cover page of our dissertations. However, we were also informed that his role cannot be recorded in the university’s Information System (IS), not even as an external consultant. If Prof. Foletti’s supervisory role is deemed sufficiently legitimate to be acknowledged in an official doctoral dissertation, it should also be formally and consistently reflected in the University’s administrative records.

We expect a prompt and serious response to these complaints. The undersigned,

Ruben Campini, MA
Mgr. Klára Doležalová

Annalisa Moraschi, MA

Nicolas Samaretz, MA

Mgr. Teodora Georgievová, Ph.D.

Despite successfully defending my thesis in November 2025, in the month following the suspension of Prof. Foletti, I also encountered the phenomena described above. I deem the concerns of the Ph.D. students signed above relevant and alarming, thus I would also like to add my signature.

Mgr. Veronika Džugan Hermanová

I began my doctoral studies at Masaryk University in September 2025. Immediately after starting the programme, I was left without a supervisor, and there is no one at the university who could fully replace Prof. Foletti, given his area of expertise. For this reason, I decided to terminate my doctoral studies at Masaryk University.

signatář/ka si nepřál/a zveřejnit své jméno

signatář/ka si nepřál/a zveřejnit své jméno