Following the completion of his PhD at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, Sofia University "St Kliment Ohridski", Bulgaria, Valentin Gutev took a lecturing post at the same Faculty which lasted over a decade. He was a postdoctoral fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, or Gakushin for short, and holds a Habilitation from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. In 2000, he moved to University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa, where he rose from lecturer to professor and was awarded twice the prestigious B1 rating from the National Research Foundation. This rating system aims to build a globally competitive science system in South Africa. B-rated researchers enjoy considerable international recognition by their peers, and in the highest subcategory of B1 some reviewers are convinced that they are leading international scholars in the field.

Professor Gutev has more than 90 peer reviewed articles, of which more than 50 are single-authored. His first-rate contribution to topology and set-valued analysis has been widely recognised by the international community of mathematicians. This is clearly shown by the excellence of the journals that have published his results and the large number of citations that they have received. He also contributed various survey articles, some of which were published as chapters in research monographs. He had several guest editorships in very prestigious international journals, and is currently sitting on the editorial board of the Japanese journal "Questions and Answers in General Topology". Professor Gutev has given talks at numerous seminars and conferences, including several invited and plenary talks. He guided several Master's and Doctoral students, and his broad circle of influence on the way mathematics is taught and learned is difficult to describe in an attempt of this nature.

In 2013, Valentin Gutev moved to the University of Malta to take up a position as a professor at the Department of Mathematics. Now, many colleagues were shocked to learn that the extension of his full-time employment with this university beyond the age of 64 - the statutory retirement age in Malta, was refused. He was scaled down by a factor of 0.44 to the lowest possible level of a resident academic. Despite multiple attempts, he was not given any reason for this decision. Other similar cases have been widely discussed and sent shockwaves in the public domain in Malta. The reasons given were that full-time posts of academics were adjusted to reflect their current commitments to the University. It is incomprehensible that the research commitments of Professor Gutev could be questionable, both in quality and quantity. By his words, any unprejudiced person will hardly see any difference in teaching commitments in the entire Department of Mathematics, all teaching portfolios at this department were at glance. Professor Gutev also shared with me that his "new status" became instrumental to exercise pressure on him. Some of his courses were removed from the study programme, and even he himself was removed from the final "Project in Mathematics" which is entirely based on supervision of students.

The University of Malta is placing paramount importance on an educational utopia of fictional goals. Knowledge is coaxed into existence by thoughtful, creative people, it is not a policy regulated issue. We call on the Rector of the University of Malta to restore the normal academic life in his institution, and express our strong support and solidarity with Professor Gutev. This is important not only for him, but for all parts of Academia. If those who do essential academic work are not given due respect and recognition, we will send a very wrong message to our young colleagues about the importance of this work, also to all students and the society in general.

Vesko Valov, Professor in Mathematics

Department of Computer Science and Mathematics, Nipissing University, 100 College Drive, P.O. Box 5002, North Bay, ON, P1B 8L7, Canada