Conservative Watch

Dr. Wendell J. Stroud

Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan

Classification
Conservative
File
0002
Opened
Tenured 2007. Confirmed by the Watch, 2019.
Evidentiary grade
Inferential
Threat score
0.1 / 100
Field office
Hyde Park, Chicago
Last observed
2026-05-09
Standing
On the criteria published in the Methodology, this confirmation does not stand. The criteria are under review.

Summary

Subject 0002 was first classified following an observation at a Rotary Club breakfast in March 2019. No attributable political statement has subsequently been recorded. He has not spoken at a faculty meeting, signed a statement, or declined to sign one.

The classification relies primarily on a bumper sticker affixed to the subject’s vehicle. A 2023 review found the available evidence insufficient under the published criteria. The classification was retained.

The subject has not been informed that a file exists.

Basis for classification

A nod, observed at a Rotary Club pancake breakfast in March 2019, and a bumper sticker for a candidate in a 2014 county drain commissioner race. The candidate ran unopposed. The candidate’s party affiliation is not printed on that ballot line.

Inferential Based on objects or associations; no relevant conduct or attributable statement is on file.

Statement of the subject

None on file. The Watch has never heard the subject speak. A 2021 department profile quotes him on drainage.

Field record

Discipline
Civil Engineering. Load-bearing structures, culverts, one paper on drainage that is well regarded.
Primary location
Structures laboratory and campus facilities.
Observed locations
Campus, one Rotary Club, and a hardware store on Grand River Avenue.
Status
Tenured. Full professor. Has never sought administrative appointment.
Pattern of life
Laboratory 06:30 to 18:30. Rotary Club breakfast, first Saturday. Church, irregular.
Identification
Vehicle bearing a bumper sticker from a 2014 county drain commissioner campaign.
Recorded statement
None. In seven years the Watch has not obtained a recording of the subject’s voice.
Known associates
Twelve graduate students and one family association reviewed; no relevant association identified.
Capabilities
None assessed. Subject has published forty-one papers, none of them political.
Intent
Assessed as "to finish the culvert paper."
Signature
Inferred from the vehicle. Confidence: moderate, and internally disputed.

Observations

2019-03-02 08:14
Rotary Club breakfast. Subject observed to nod during a political discussion. Observation reviewed by a second analyst; file opened.
2021-11-30 17:45
Faculty meeting, ninety minutes. Subject present. Subject silent. Consistent with all prior faculty meetings.
2023-06-14
Review of vehicle-based evidence completed. Existing classification retained pending revision of the criteria.
2026-05-09
Routine observation, Grand River Avenue. No relevant activity recorded.

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