Irvine : Petrofsky Gets Leave to Do Studies at UCI

Jerrold Petrofsky, whose research has enabled paralyzed people to walk, has been given an unpaid leave of absence from Wright State University in Ohio to conduct his studies at UC Irvine, it was announced Tuesday.

Larry Kinneer, a spokesman for Wright State, said the leave of absence is effective Oct. 5 and that Petrofsky will remain director of the National Center for Rehabilitation Engineering at the school.

Kathy Jones, a spokeswoman for UCI, said, “It is our understanding that he will be conducting his research here for a year.”

Petrofsky, whose life and work has been featured on “60 Minutes” and a television movie, was on his way to a conference in Israel and unavailable for comment.

Kinneer said the agreement to extend Petrofsky a leave of absence was reached last week between him, Wright State President Paige Mulhollan and attorneys for both sides. But the announcement was not made until Tuesday when the agreement was signed, he said.

Petrofsky and Mulhollan have been at odds in recent months over funding for the center at Wright State.

However, Petrofsky has maintained that although he had accepted a volunteer position at UCI, he had been waiting for a decision on his status by Wright State before he would begin full-time work in Irvine.