Open Letter to Board of Governors, Middlesex University, 21 May 2010

UPDATE: W 26 May 7:10 am CDT: Please sign the Call for an Academic Boycott of Middlesex University until restoration of its philosophy program:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/academic-boycott-of-middlesex-university.html

UPDATE: T 25 May 7:30 am CDT: More information on the suspensions. 

UPDATE: T 25 May 10:16 am CDT: please consider sending this email to colleagues in other disciplines. 

21 May 2010

Board of Governors 
Middlesex University inLondon  
The Burroughs 
London NW4 4BT

Dear Members of the Board:

The suspension of Professors Osborne and Hallward is shameful! How could you allow the university administration under your supervision to behave this way?  

Academic freedom will be defended. This is a gross miscalculation on the part of an out-of-control, panicking, administration. The previous international condemnation of your school will only increase.

Your administrators are at risk of permanently besmirching the reputation of your university. Do you really think that any self-respecting academic in any field will have anything to do with a university utilizing such thuggish tactics? An organized boycott is a real possibility at this point. Do you really want to go down that road? 

You must rein in these administrators before they do permanent damage to your school. 

In the hopes of impressing upon you the seriousness of this situation,

John Protevi
Professor, Department of French Studies 
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge LA 70803 USA

UPDATE: Friday 21 May 2010, 2:04 pm CDT: Email addresses of MDX Board: 

semi-colon format: 

michael@partridges.org.uk; A.Gajownik@mdx.ac.uk; A.Durant@mdx.ac.uk; thelindens@googlemail.com; andrew.parsons@rlb-law.com; avrobinson1@tiscali.co.uk; l_spence1@sky.com; Bridget.Rulski@guardian.co.uk; colin.hughes@guardian.co.uk; T.Cockerton@mdx.ac.uk; P.A.Johnson@mdx.ac.uk; jritterman@blueyonder.co.uk; dinagray@btinternet.com; j.alleyne@mdx.ac.uk; geoff.lambert2@ntlworld.com; W.Ahmad@mdx.ac.uk; J.Compton-Bishop@mdx.ac.uk; j.mulroy1@btinternet.com; K.A.Bell@mdx.ac.uk; lorna.cocking@btinternet.com; M.House@mdx.ac.uk; M.Keen@mdx.ac.uk; m.driscoll@mdx.ac.uk; PeterCheeseman1@aol.com; Peter.Thomas2@justice.gsi.gov.uk; RS1000@live.mdx.ac.uk; stephen.hand@lr.org; s.knight@mdx.ac.uk; T.Kelly@mdx.ac.uk; T.Butland@mdx.ac.uk; e.esche@mdx.ac.uk

comma format: 

michael@partridges.org.uk, A.Gajownik@mdx.ac.uk, A.Durant@mdx.ac.uk, thelindens@googlemail.com, andrew.parsons@rlb-law.com, avrobinson1@tiscali.co.uk, l_spence1@sky.com, Bridget.Rulski@guardian.co.uk, colin.hughes@guardian.co.uk, T.Cockerton@mdx.ac.uk, P.A.Johnson@mdx.ac.uk, jritterman@blueyonder.co.uk, dinagray@btinternet.com, j.alleyne@mdx.ac.uk, geoff.lambert2@ntlworld.com, W.Ahmad@mdx.ac.uk, J.Compton-Bishop@mdx.ac.uk, j.mulroy1@btinternet.com, K.A.Bell@mdx.ac.uk, lorna.cocking@btinternet.com, M.House@mdx.ac.uk, M.Keen@mdx.ac.uk, m.driscoll@mdx.ac.uk, PeterCheeseman1@aol.com, Peter.Thomas2@justice.gsi.gov.uk, RS1000@live.mdx.ac.uk, stephen.hand@lr.org, s.knight@mdx.ac.uk, T.Kelly@mdx.ac.uk, T.Butland@mdx.ac.uk, e.esche@mdx.ac.uk

Comments

[Istvan Berkeley]

John,
If you separated the list of e-mails by commas, rather than semi-colons, people could just copy and paste it into an e-mail rather than having to replace all the separators. Just a helpful suggestion.

All the best,

Istvan