Open Letter on the University of Oregon graduate union strike

I am really proud to co-sign this Open Letter by Mark Alfano on the University of Oregon Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation strike. (See here at Lawyers Guns and Money and here at Daily Nous for background. Also here for a GTFF cease-and-desist letter on the threat to international graduate students.) Others can co-sign by commenting below. 

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President Scott Coltrane [email protected]
Provost Frances Bronet [email protected]
Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Doug Blandy [email protected]

Dear Interim President Coltrane, Interim Provost Bronet, and Vice Provost Blandy: 

I write to express my concern for the state of academic integrity at the University of Oregon. In recent days, I have been troubled to learn that the university administration has undertaken a series of actions related to the strike by the local graduate student union (GTFF 3544) that are potentially illegal and obviously immoral. These include intimidating undergraduate students regarding their federal financial aid, diluting academic standards by issuing final grades based on work that was done before the strike started (in some cases less than 50% of graded assignments), threatening the visa status of striking international graduate students, and making final examinations and end-of-term assignments optional in multiple departments (including, to my knowledge, philosophy, linguistics, and ethnic studies).

Such scorched-earth policies are myopic and nihilistic. And in light of Dr. Coltrane’s own published work on the importance of paid parental leave, the administration’s behavior towards its own graduate students who are striking because they want two weeks of parental leave per year is deeply and shockingly ironic.

I urge you to give the graduate students what they’re asking for, cease the morally repugnant behavior, and manifest a little integrity.

Mark Alfano
Assistant Professor
Department of Philosophy
University of Oregon

John Protevi
Phyllis M Taylor Professor of French Studies
Professor of Philosophy
Louisiana State University

Affiliation provided for identification purposes only and does not imply speaking on behalf of our respective institutions.

Comments

[Jonathan Kaplan]

Please include me as a co-signatory:

Jonathan Kaplan
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Oregon State University
[Affiliation provided for identification purposes only and does not imply speaking on behalf of the institution.]

[Hugh Miller]

I concur.

Hugh Miller
Assistant Professor
Department of Philosophy
Loyola University Chicago

[Eva Dadlez]

I concur.

Eva Dadlez
Professor
Department of Humanities and Philosophy
University of Central Oklahoma

[GCM]

Co-sign.

George Ciccariello-Maher
Assistant Professor
Department of Politics
Drexel University

[B Honig]

Please add my name
Bonnie Honig
Brown University
Depts of Political Science and Modern Culture and Media

[Erik Loomis]

Co-signed.

Erik Loomis
Assistant Professor
Department of History
University of Rhode Island

[Kevin Bruyneel]

I concur

Kevin Bruyneel
Associate Professor of Politics
History & Society Division
Babson College, Wellesley, MA

[Antti Kauppinen]

What an embarrassment for University of Oregon and its leadership.

Antti Kauppinen
Assistant Professor
Department of Philosophy
Trinity College Dublin

[NC]

Co-signed.

Natalia Cecire
Lecturer in English and American Literature
University of Sussex (UK)

[Hassan Melehy]

Co-signed.

Hassan Melehy
Professor of French and Francophone Studies
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

I'd like to make a further observation on the disparity between President Coltrane's scholarly work on the importance of family leave and his actions in this case: he is sending the strongest of messages that scholarly work has no bearing on the real world, which is a gross insult to the entire academic mission of the University of Oregon and completely unbecoming of its chief administrator.

[owen flanagan]

Owen Flanagan
James B. Duke University Professor of Philosophy
Duke University
Durham NC 27701

[Justin Weinberg]

Please include me as a co-signer.
Justin Weinberg
Associate Professor of Philosophy
University of South Carolina

[Ed kazarian]

Co-Signed.

Edward Kazarian
Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies
Rowan Unviersity

[Aleksandar Jokic]

Aleksandar Jokic
Professor of Philosophy
Portland State University
Portland, OR 97207

[Seth Kahn]

I sent an individual letter before I saw this, but am happy to sign onto this one too.

Seth Kahn
Professor of English
West Chester University of PA

[Lucy Schultz]

Co-signed.

Lucy Schultz
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Midwestern State University
Wichita Falls, TX 76301

[Dana Howard]

Co-Signed.

Dana Howard
Postdoctoral Fellow in Philosophy
Ohio State University

[Aidan McGlynn]

Please include me too:

Aidan McGlynn
Department of Philosophy
University of Edinburgh

[Helen De Cruz]

Co-signed.

Helen De Cruz
British Academy postdoctoral Fellow
University of Oxford

[Bijan Parsia]

Co-Signed

Bijan Parsia
Reader in Computer Science
University of Manchester, UK

[Elizabeth Reis]

Consider us signed:
Elizabeth Reis
Professor and Chair, Women's and Gender Studies Department
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403

Matthew Dennis
Professor of History
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403

[Manuela Ceballos, Department of Religious Studies, University of Tennessee-Knoxville]

Co-signed.

[Nicole Pacino]

Co-sign.

Nicole Pacino
Assistant Professor
University of Alabama in Huntsville

[Matt DeForrest]

Please include me as well:

Matthew M. DeForrest, Ph.D.
Interim Chair of Languages and Literature
Associate Professor of English
Johnson C. Smith University

[Dr. Philip J. Howe]

I concur.

[Andrew Dilts]

Please add my name:

Andrew Dilts
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
Loyola Marymount University

[Elizabeth Picciuto]

Elizabeth Picciuto
Adjunct Lecturer in Philosophy
University of Maryland, Baltimore County

[Eric M. Fink]

Co-signed

Eric M. Fink
Associate Professor of Law
Elon University School of Law
Greensboro, North Carolina

[Aaron Bae]

Co-signed, in solidarity.

Aaron Bae
Graduate Teaching Associate, History
School of Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies
Arizona State University

[Adriel Trott]

I concur.

Adriel M. Trott
Asst. Professor
Dept. of Philosophy
Wabash College

[Cheryl lemus]

Please add my name.
Cheryl Lemus
Assistant Professor of History
Ashford University

[Andrew Behrendt]

Andrew Behrendt
Ph.D. Candidate
Dept. of History
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA

[Danielle Olden]

I concur.

Danielle Olden
Assistant Professor of History
University of Utah

[Matthew Titolo]

Co-signed

Matthew Titolo
Associate Professor of Law
West Virginia University College of Law
Morgantown, West Virginia

[M. Claire Saxton]

I would be honored to be included as a co-signatory:

M. Claire Saxton
University of Oregon MBA '04

[Christian Lotz]

Please add my name

Christian Lotz
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Michigan State University

[Yevan Terrien]

Yevan Terrien
Ph.D. Candidate
Dept. of History
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA

[Stephanie LeMenager]

Co-signed.

Stephanie LeMenager
Moore Professor of English
University of Oregon

[Adelina Stefan]

Adelina Stefan
Ph.D. Candidate in History
University of Pittsburgh

[Ian Brooks]

Co-signed.

Ian Brooks
Lecturer, Department of Philosophy
University of British Columbia

[Katherine Knowles]

I concur with the letter above. The right to strike in the process of negotiations regarding working conditions is crucial to this democracy. The preservation of integrity in relationships between teachers and students is also fundamental to our education system. I support the rights of these graduate students to strike for better working conditions. Without their mentorship and contributions OUR university system would not exist. Stop the intimidation and sit down to negotiate the benefits they deserve.

[Gideon Rosen]

Gideon Rosen
Stuart Professor of Philosophy
Princeton University

[Jacqueline Antonovich]

Co-signed in solidarity.

Jacqueline D. Antonovich
PhD Candidate in History
University of Michigan

[Ina Roy-Faderman]

Signed
Ina Roy-Faderman, M.D., Ph.D.
Oregon State University

[Dana Rognlie]

Add me!

Dana Rognlie
PhD Candidate
University of Oregon

[Mariana Grajales]

Mariana Grajales
PhD Candidate in comparative literature
SUNY Binghamton

[Kara Fitzgibbon]

Kara Fitzgibbon
Ph.D. Candidate
Dept. of Sociology
University of Virginia

[Samir Chopra]

Signed.

Samir Chopra
Professor of Philosophy
Brooklyn College and Graduate Center of CUNy

[Michelle Marie]

The way GTFs are being treated is shameful, particularly considering Dr. Coltrane's own area of expertise.

Michelle Marie
Ph.D. Candidate
School of Design and Human Environment
Oregon State University

[Derek Baker]

Co-signed:

Derek Baker
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Lingnan University
Hong Kong SAR

[Meggan Bilotte]

In Solidarity.

Meggan Woodbury Bilotte
PhD Candidate in History
University of Wisconsin-Madison

[Blake Hereth]

Please add my name.

Blake Hereth
Adjunct Professor of Philosophy
Drake University

[Andrea Binder]

Andrea Mary Binder
Graduate Student
Department of Anthropology
University of Wyoming

[Arthur Kirkpatrick]

Co-signed in solidarity:

Arthur Kirkpatrick
Associate Professor of Computing Science
Simon Fraser University
Surrey BC Canada

U of O Ph.D. 2000
Former VP External Relations GTFF Local 3544

[John R. Pincince]

Co-signed, I concur, and in solidarity,

John R. Pincince
Director, Asian Studies Program
Advanced Lecturer
Department of History
Loyola Univeristy-Chicago

[cheyney ryan]

Add me.

Cheyney Ryan
Oxford/U of Oregon

[Cas Mudde]

Co-signed in solidarity

Cas Mudde
Associate Professor in International Affairs
University of Georgia
(Visiting Associate Professor University of Oregon 2008-9)

[Evan C. Paul]

I support this statement wholeheartedly.

Evan C. Paul
PhD in Music Composition
Former GTF in Music Theory
University of Oregon

[Cheryl Abbate]

Cheryl Abbate
PhD Candidate, Philosophy
Marquette University

[Brian Leslie]

Oh this is so low!

Co-signed:

Brian Leslie
PhD Candidate
Department of Communication Studies
Louisiana State University

[Carrie Adkins]

I concur. I am so disappointed in my alma mater.

Carrie Adkins
PhD in History, 2013, University of Oregon

[Benjamin Johnson]

Please add my signature.

Benjamin H. Johnson
Assistant Professor of History
Loyola University Chicago

[cruth]

Christopher Ruth
U Oregon MA 2004 Philosophy

[Ingo Brigandt]

Include me as a co-signatory.

Ingo Brigandt
Associate Professor of Philosophy and Canada Research Chair in Philosophy of Biology
University of Alberta

[Jennifer Cypher]

Co-signed in solidarity as an academic, and as the child of three parents who did degrees at the U of O.

Jennifer Cypher
Adjuct Professor of Environmental Studies
York University
Toronto, Canada

[michael meranze]

Please add my name

Michael Meranze
Department of History
UCLA

[Jonathan Livengood]

Add my name as well:

Jonathan Livengood
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

[Matt Weiner]

Co-signed.

Matt Weiner
Associate Professor of Philosophy
University of Vermont

[Terrance La-Shon Archibald]

I concur:

Terrance La-Shon Archibald
MSW Student
University of Missouri-Columbia

[Sophie Wodzak]

I concur:

Sophie Wodzak
Department of English
Carnegie Mellon University

[Robin Anne Reid]

Robin Anne Reid
Professor of Literature and Languages
Department of Literature and Languages
Texas A&M University-Commerce
(Affiliation provided for identification only; I do not speak for my university. I'd also note that Texas has a law against collective bargaining by state employees which means, effectively no unions for faculty at any level.)

[Lynne Tirrell]

Please add my name. This is outrageous.
Lynne Tirrell
Associate Professor of Philosophy
U Mass Boston

[David Wacks]

Co-signed
David Wacks
Associate Professor of Spanish
University of Oregon

[Brandon Kendhammer]

Co-signed.

Brandon Kendhammer
Dept. of Political Science
Ohio University (obviously, I don't speak for my institution).

[Alex]

Please add my name.
Alex Marcellesi
Graduate Student, Philosophy
UC San Diego

[K T]

I add my name to list of signatories:

Katja Thieme
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

[Mark Alfano]

Thank you to all the co-signers. I am deeply moved by your support for the grad students and academic integrity at the university of oregon. Tonight is the first time I have cried in nine years.

[Ben Burgis]

Ben Burgis
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Yonsei University (Republic of Korea)

[Regina Mills]

Regina Mills
PhD Student and Assistant Instructor
Department of English
University of Texas at Austin

[William Harbaugh]

Please add my name:

William Harbaugh
Professor of Economics
University of Oregon

[Roberta Millstein]

Please add my name:

Roberta L Millstein
Professor, Philosophy
University of California, Davis

[Gayle Greene]

Please add my name
Gayle Greene
professor, English
Scripps College
Claremont, Ca

[Mary Jaeger]

Mary Jaeger
Professor, Classics
Program Director, Humanities
University of Oregon

[Kevin S Decker]

Co-signed

Kevin S Decker
Professor of Philosophy
Eastern Washington University

[Roland Greene]

Co-signed.

Roland Greene
Professor of English and Comparative Literature
Stanford University

Former UO faculty member, 1993-2000

[Husni]

Co-signed

Husni Abu Bakar
PhD Candidate
Dept. of Comparative Literature
UC Riverside

[IJA]

I agree wholeheartedly. The cynicism and ill will of the UO's behavior toward its graduate employees betrays the very idea of a university.

Ira Allen
Assistant Professor
Department of English
American University of Beirut

[Burak Ozcetin]

Please add my name
Assist. Prof. Dr. Burak Özçetin
Akdeniz University, Turkey

[EricaMusser]

Erica D. Musser, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Florida International University
Miami, FL 33199
UO Alumnus (2013) and former GTF

[André Krouwel]

Please include me as well:
André Krouwel
Lecturer of Political Science and Communication
VU University Amsterdam

[Charles Tung]

Charles M. Tung
Associate Professor of English
Seattle University

[Julia Chang]

Julia Chang
Assistant Professor
Brown University

[Kristina Gehrman]

Kristina Gehrman
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
University of Tennessee, Knoxville

[David Kolb]

David A. Kolb
Charles A. Dana Professor Emeritus of Philosophy
Bates College

[Teresa Coronado]

Co-signed,
Teresa Coronado
Associate Professor, English
University of Wisconsin-Parkside

[Rebecca Bamford]

Rebecca Bamford
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Quinnipiac University

[Cara Bohon]

Cara Bohon
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychiatry
Stanford University
PhD from University of Oregon 2010 and former GTF

[Tom Digby]

Tom Digby
Professor of Philosophy
Springfield College
Springfield, Massachusetts

[Dr Martin Leyland, Research Support Officer, Teesside University, UK]

Cosigned

[Andrea Lowgren]

Andrea Lowgren
U of Oregon alum
History and Women's Studies
Portland Community College