Columbia's Faculty Protest
[I had been startled by the general silence of Columbia faculty until a distinguished group yesterday expressed its distress with administrative actions without faculty consultation -- former Provost Jonathan Cole, Eric Foner, Peter Marcuse, and others. I know from my own personal experience teaching in both private and public universities that pressures are greater on faculty in the former to conform to administrative dictates. One of my own undergraduate teachers, John Silber, was notorious for manipulating faculty salaries at Boston University when he became president there.
I hope more faculty will speak out their concerns of conscience and not simply leave the distress to students at Columbia. Sidney Morgenbesser, among my own teachers at Columbia, did so even though the consequence was a blow to the head from a police club as he engaged in protecting students from same in 1968. Certainly there are as many if not more issues on the table now -- of corporate greed, governmental corruption and violations of our Constitution, and wars launched for personal profit -- that should be mobilizing us against the crimes of our government. Ed Kent]
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Protecting Professors
By Editorial Board [Columbia Spectator]
PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 15, 2007
On Tuesday, the New York Sun published an op-ed by the Columbia University Faculty Action Committee arguing that the academic environment at Columbia is too constricted and that faculty are largely unrepresented in the formation of University policy. At the forefront of the coalition's concerns is the tenure process, which they believe fails to encourage a free exchange of challenging ideas due to lobbying and political pressure from outside the University. It is detrimental to the academic life of Columbia if professors do not feel fully empowered by the administration to express their views, especially when they come under assault from external influences. The University must reaffirm that while the marketplace of ideas may expose professors to criticism, the intrusion of non-academic pressure on the tenure process is unacceptable.
Each tenure candidate must be reviewed by his or her department; the Tenure Process Review Committee, comprised of faculty from across the University; and, finally, President Lee C. Bollinger. But while many decisions occur quietly, recent tenure reviews for professors such as Nadia Abu El-Haj have been marked by public pressure from individuals and groups outside the academic community. The tenure process is intended to be confidential to ensure that the Committee's decisions focus on the scholarly value, rather than the political implications, of his or her work.
True academic freedom must allow for the pursuit of ideas that challenge past research and further the discourse within a particular field. While a professor's work is always open to public scrutiny, untenured professors or professors up for review should be able to face such criticism without the fear that it will unduly affect the tenure process. Faculty members, both tenured and untenured, should feel protected by the University and assured that the tenure process will be thorough but fair. It is essential that administrators make clear publicly that faculty review cannot—and will not—be hijacked by those with purely political motives.
President Bollinger has said repeatedly that he values academic freedom, and he showed that he was above external pressure in his initial invitation of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Such actions are hollow, however, if faculty members do not feel that they have the ability to be as controversial in their academic pursuits. The Sun article amounts to a partial vote of no confidence in the administration and cannot be ignored. The tenure review of Joseph Massad has already been met with significant protest and outside attacks. Whatever the outcome, this will be a good opportunity for Bollinger and other administrators to make clear that Columbia values academic freedom on all levels.
TAGS: Columbia University Faculty Action Committee, Joseph Massad, Nadia Abu El-Haj, Tenure Review
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"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
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Ed Kent 212-665-8535 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CollegeConversation
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PeaceEfforts
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EndingPoverty
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/440neighborhood
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StudentConcerns
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AcademicFreedom
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PrivacyRights
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Israel_Palestine
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FindingHumaneJobs
http://BlogByEdKent.blogspot.com/
http://www.bloggernews.net
I hope more faculty will speak out their concerns of conscience and not simply leave the distress to students at Columbia. Sidney Morgenbesser, among my own teachers at Columbia, did so even though the consequence was a blow to the head from a police club as he engaged in protecting students from same in 1968. Certainly there are as many if not more issues on the table now -- of corporate greed, governmental corruption and violations of our Constitution, and wars launched for personal profit -- that should be mobilizing us against the crimes of our government. Ed Kent]
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Protecting Professors
By Editorial Board [Columbia Spectator]
PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 15, 2007
On Tuesday, the New York Sun published an op-ed by the Columbia University Faculty Action Committee arguing that the academic environment at Columbia is too constricted and that faculty are largely unrepresented in the formation of University policy. At the forefront of the coalition's concerns is the tenure process, which they believe fails to encourage a free exchange of challenging ideas due to lobbying and political pressure from outside the University. It is detrimental to the academic life of Columbia if professors do not feel fully empowered by the administration to express their views, especially when they come under assault from external influences. The University must reaffirm that while the marketplace of ideas may expose professors to criticism, the intrusion of non-academic pressure on the tenure process is unacceptable.
Each tenure candidate must be reviewed by his or her department; the Tenure Process Review Committee, comprised of faculty from across the University; and, finally, President Lee C. Bollinger. But while many decisions occur quietly, recent tenure reviews for professors such as Nadia Abu El-Haj have been marked by public pressure from individuals and groups outside the academic community. The tenure process is intended to be confidential to ensure that the Committee's decisions focus on the scholarly value, rather than the political implications, of his or her work.
True academic freedom must allow for the pursuit of ideas that challenge past research and further the discourse within a particular field. While a professor's work is always open to public scrutiny, untenured professors or professors up for review should be able to face such criticism without the fear that it will unduly affect the tenure process. Faculty members, both tenured and untenured, should feel protected by the University and assured that the tenure process will be thorough but fair. It is essential that administrators make clear publicly that faculty review cannot—and will not—be hijacked by those with purely political motives.
President Bollinger has said repeatedly that he values academic freedom, and he showed that he was above external pressure in his initial invitation of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Such actions are hollow, however, if faculty members do not feel that they have the ability to be as controversial in their academic pursuits. The Sun article amounts to a partial vote of no confidence in the administration and cannot be ignored. The tenure review of Joseph Massad has already been met with significant protest and outside attacks. Whatever the outcome, this will be a good opportunity for Bollinger and other administrators to make clear that Columbia values academic freedom on all levels.
TAGS: Columbia University Faculty Action Committee, Joseph Massad, Nadia Abu El-Haj, Tenure Review
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
--
Ed Kent 212-665-8535 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CollegeConversation
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PeaceEfforts
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EndingPoverty
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/440neighborhood
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StudentConcerns
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AcademicFreedom
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PrivacyRights
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Israel_Palestine
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FindingHumaneJobs
http://BlogByEdKent.blogspot.com/
http://www.bloggernews.net
posted by Ed Kent at 8:32 AM
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