NAMES IN THE NEWS : Record of College Grad, 11, Studied

Adragon De Mello made headlines last year by graduating from college at age 11, but now his university is examining his high-pressure academic career, which featured double course loads and frequent waivers and grade changes.

Adragon, who received a degree in computational mathematics from the University of California at Santa Cruz, did well in some classes but in others struggled to pass or failed to complete course work by the end of the term, according to a published report.

UC’s advising system seems to have “let him down,” said Vice Chancellor Isebill V. Gruhn. Adragon’s counselors should have been alarmed by the pressures on the boy and his often mediocre work, Gruhn told the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Robert B. Stevens said his office will investigate the charges.

Adragon gained widespread attention and became an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest college graduate.

According to university records, Adragon took a double load of classes and often used petitions and waivers to win exceptions from UC’s usual requirements.

But Adragon’s father, Agustin De Mello, defended his son, claiming that any negative evaluations were written by people who were prejudiced against the boy. De Mello had drawn up plans for raising a genius--including advanced degrees and a Nobel Prize by age 16--even before Adragon was conceived.