John Protevi's Blog

Statement by Kirk Sanders, Chair of Philosophy at UIUC

In an email earlier today to faculty and staff of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson announced the approval of a negotiated settlement with Dr. Steven Salaita, whose offer of appointment as an Associate Professor of American Indian Studies had been revoked last year. Throughout the ensuing controversy, the Department of Philosophy at UIUC repeatedly proved itself a vocal opponent of the revocation of Dr. Salaita’s offer and a strong supporter of academic freedom and shared governance more generally.

Ours was the first unit on campus outside of American Indian Studies to approve a resolution of “no confidence” in the Chancellor, President, and Board of Trustees. Several members of our faculty were deeply involved in efforts in the Academic Senate and across campus to seek Dr. Salaita’s reinstatement and to publicly reaffirm the university’s commitments to core principles of academic freedom and shared governance.

While the university remains under AAUP censure as the result of the actions of its administration and Board of Trustees at the time, it is important to note that the key players in the decision to fire Dr. Salaita no longer occupy positions of power at UIUC. The former Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chris Kennedy, no longer sits on the Board; former President Robert Easter retired; and former Chancellor Phyllis Wise and former Provost Ilesanmi Adesida resigned their respective positions following the revelation that they had used non-university email accounts for university business in an apparent attempt to evade Freedom of Information Act requests, including ones related to the Salaita case.

Now that Dr. Salaita himself has agreed to a financial settlement, the motivation for the academic boycott of UIUC that arose in response to his case would seem to be entirely gone. While the pledge that so many of our colleagues in Philosophy signed (http://proteviblog.typepad.com/protevi/2014/09/over-550-philosophers-now-boycotting-uiuc-over-the-handling-of-the-salaita-case.html) stated in part: “We, the  undersigned,  will  not  visit  the  University  of  Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus until Professor Salaiata is reinstated to the position offered him …,” the terms of Dr. Salaita’s settlement effectively preclude the possibility of reinstatement.

While we respect Dr. Salaita’s decision to settle rather than to continue to pursue the matter in the courts, despite the clear merits of his case, a financial settlement of the sort agreed to leaves many of the core issues regarding the university's commitment to principles of academic freedom and shared governance unresolved in a way that his reinstatement would not. The AAUP report on UIUC suggested that a retraction -- or at least clarification -- of certain comments made by Chancellor Wise and the Board of Trustees concerning "civility" in the infamous mass emails of August 22, 2014, will also be a necessary condition of ending censure. Now that the legal issues surrounding Dr. Saliata's firing seem to have been resolved, one hopes that such a retraction will soon follow.

In the meantime, it is my sincere hope that colleagues in Philosophy across the country and around the world will once again feel comfortable accepting invitations to come and speak on our campus. We’ve missed having you here.

 

Sincerely,

Kirk Sanders

Associate Professor and Chair

Department of Philosophy

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The Salaita settlement and the philosophers boycott

Steven Salaita has settled his suit against Illinois. 

While I was not in any sense the "director" or what have you of the philosopher's boycott, I was a catalyst, so I think I should say something here. 

Unfortunately, there was some inconsistency in my statements: the letter sent to UIUC and BOT officials said "until Professor Salaita is reinstated" whereas many of the blog posts which alerted people to the boycott effort said "until an equitable resolution is reached." On reflection the latter standard seems the right one to me, but people should make up their own minds here.

The last word I think should be directed to Steven Salaita himself, thanking him for the courage he displayed in this long fight. 

UPDATE: Corey Robin finishes his post on the matter in this way: 

As I was finishing up this post, Steven responded to an email I had sent him with the following:

We fought hard.  I tried my very best to represent those invested in the issue with dignity and decency.  And I hope this sort of thing never happens to anybody else.

I would say that Steven did more than try his very best to represent those invested in the issue with dignity and decency. He actually did represent those invested in the issue with dignity and decency. And while I don’t have a crystal ball, I’d be surprised if any university ever tried to pull this kind of stunt again.

 

On the Salaita case, once again

1. On the proper interpretation of the AAUP's statements (following the lead of John K Wilson):

The AAUP’s 1940 “Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure” explicitly states that when faculty “speak or write as citizens, they should be free from institutional censorship." The continuation of that sentence in the 1940 Statement ("but their special position in the community imposes special obligations") cannot be used to justify firing (or "un-hiring") a professor but instead expresses moral ideals for professors rather than conditions enabling disciplinary action, especially unilateral administration action without faculty consultation.

Furthermore, the AAUP's 1970 Interpretive Comments declare that the “obligations” section of the 1940 Statement must be interpreted by incorporating the 1964 Statement on Extramural Utterances, which holds that any extramural utterance, to be punishable, “clearly demonstrates the faculty member’s unfitness” for the position and also take into account the professor’s “entire record as a teacher and scholar."

Proper respect for faculty governance entails that it is the faculty who are best positioned to judge a professor's "entire record as a teacher and scholar," not the administration or Board alone.

This is consistent with the AAUP's 29 August 2014 letter, recommending that Salaita be suspended with pay pending formal disciplinary hearings with proper faculty input. 

Further, I think the most an administration should be allowed to do, absent formal hearings with faculty input, is produce the common response: "We disagree with the content of Professor X's speech, and remind people that he does not speak for the University." This is codified in the UI Statutes as follows: "If, in the president’s judgment, a faculty member exercises freedom of expression as a citizen and fails to heed the admonitions of Article X, Section 2b, the president may publicly disassociate the Board of Trustees and the University from and express their disapproval of such objectionable expressions."

2. On the matter of Salaita's status at UIUC

It is not the case that Salaita misinterpreted the UIUC's actions; it is rather the case that UIUC acted in numerous concrete ways toward Salaita as an employee, thus forming the basis of the "promissory estoppel" claim many legal experts (e.g., Dorf at Cornell and Leiter at Chicago) find Salaita to have.

Following proper procedures, a written offer of employment was issued on October 3, 2013 to Professor Steven Salaita for an appointment, with tenure, as Associate Professor. This offer followed all the standard procedures of a national search and internal approvals from relevant academic units at UIUC, from department to College Dean, to Provost, and up through the office of the Chancellor in the person of Reginald Alston, Associate Chancellor. 

Furthermore, subsequent to Professor Salaita's acceptance of the offer, UIUC scheduled him to teach classes, paid moving expenses, entered him into the payroll system, sent the IT people to inquire as to his computer needs, and invited to the Chancellor's new faculty reception.  In addition, these were also actions UIUC took with all the entering members of the new faculty cohort in 2014 and preceding years, all prior to final Board approval, which, by the actions of the University, have to be considered pro forma.

3. On the question of the "civility" standard

The objectionable nature of the introduction of the civility standard is two-fold: a) that it is much weaker than that of "hate speech" and b) that it is given to the administration alone to judge "civility."

With regard to a) I isolated "civility" from the fog of the statements by the Board and by Wise, because it is the dangerous part of what they say. When an administration effects a power grab by lowering the standards enabling their unilateral action, it makes no sense to waste time talking about the standards that are already accepted; the danger lies in the lowering of the standards. 

With regard to b), the unilateral nature of the administration's judgment of civility conflicts with faculty governance.

4. On the exploitation of a loophole by the UIUC administration

I propose a thought experiment. Suppose it were the case that the LSU Board made a miscalculation and that there was no quorum at the meeting in which my tenure was approved. Suppose further that my political enemies then presented a case, based on my extramural speech, for my unfitness as a teacher, and then pressured the Board to summarily dismiss me, claiming my tenure rights to be non-existent because of the recently discovered procedural error. Suppose further that the Board bought that argument and dismissed me, without possibility of internal appeal, leaving me only with recourse to the legal system.  

I think it fair to say that in such a scenario I would expect support from my colleagues, decrying the crass and petty legalisms of the maneuver of my enemies and the cowardice of the administration, and that my colleagues would demand an internal university procedure with adequate faculty representation as to the question of my fitness to teach. This is, again, the AAUP's 29 August 2014 position: Salaita should be suspended with pay and an internal university procedure be convened.

5. On the larger question of academic freedom

The courts allow universities to offer academic freedom to their employees, over and above our First Amendment rights, as incentives for recruitment and retention. That is to say, universities can, but need not, offer immunity from summary dismissal and other forms of unilaterally imposed economic sanction to their employees for their extramural speech, save in the case of an properly run disciplinary procedure with adequate faculty representation.

Thus defending academic freedom falls to the faculty; it is our obligation, should we wish to maintain the consensus among administrators that academic freedom is indeed a valued benefit to us – and to the society at large -- to fight any and all violations of it, no matter the content of the speech. And I think this holds especially for those cases in which administrations seek, by means of petty legalistic loopholes, to cut faculty out of our rightful place as a necessary component in any procedure aimed at judging the fitness of a colleague on the basis of that colleague's "entire record as a teacher and scholar."

It should go without saying

but I'll say it anyway: whatever criticisms I have of the PGR, I won't ever fail to acknowledge that Brian Leiter's work on the Salaita case is admirably clear, informed, and important. 

Today's post is no exception: 

Prof. Salaita was, in person, exactly as he seemed at his Urbana-Champaign press conference:  friendly, warm, and admirably composed and cheerful considering the terrible ordeal of persecution he has been through.  The real person is a powerful counterweight to the campaign of demonization to which he has been subjected.  It clearly helps that he has a strong sense of moral purpose....   

The summary dismissal of Professor Steven Salaita from a tenured faculty position at the University of Illinois is the single most brazen attack on freedom of speech in American universities in my lifetime.  It is, unfortunately, not the only such instance, but it demands all our attention because of the shocking and unapologetic contempt displayed by the University of Illinois for fundamental constitutional values.

See also, among other places: here, here, here, and here. 

Mike Otsuka on the significance of the UIUC no confidence votes

Mike Otsuka of the LSE has some important reflections on the departmental no confidence votes at UIUC. 

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We should not underestimate the significance of the 15 Departmental votes of no confidence in Chancellor Wise (and those above her) at UIUC. When parliaments pass motions of "no confidence" on which such votes are modelled, they are declaring that those in command are no longer fit to hold office, and governments fall. These are, therefore, very strong statements from these Departments. Such votes of no confidence in the senior managers of one's own university are rare. Fear of retaliation by one's bosses is an obvious explanation. Another explanation is that even if one strongly opposes someone's actions, one might not think they rise to the level of a resigning offence.

It may not surprise many that the Department that voted to hire Salaita (American Indian Studies) passed a motion of no confidence, or that all the other Departments in the Race, Ethnicity, Indigeneity, and Gender grouping joined them. But I was surprised to see how far beyond these Departments the votes of no confidence have radiated. Philosophy, for example, does not spring to mind as a natural ally of Race, Ethnicity, Indigeneity, and Gender. But they were one of the first to join AIS in voting no confidence. It's also significant that two Departments in large and traditional disciplines -- English and History -- passed motions of no confidence.

The Departmental votes of no confidence haven't yet extended beyond the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. But they already extend a fair distance within that College, which is at the core of the University. It was, recall, a vote of no confidence of Harvard's equivalent Faculty of Arts and Sciences that led to Larry Summers's resignation. The vote against Summers wasn't overwhelming: 218–185. And, significantly, it was by secret ballot of all members of the Faculty, with no individual Departments having to put their necks on the line.

Members of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences have an especially strong grievance against their Chancellor, given the manner in which she bypassed their Dean, in violation of University Statutes. (See link in first comment below.) It is not over yet. Let's hope that there are more Departmental votes of no confidence to come. Perhaps we are not far from the point where the level of no confidence among LAS faculty in Chancellor Wise reaches that of Harvard's FAS in Larry Summers.

Open Letter by Nathan Brown to colleagues at UIUC: "I write to urge your departments to begin organizing a faculty strike for the winter semester at UIUC."

September 11, 2014

Dear Colleagues at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,

I am writing to you in your capacity as heads of those departments that have voted “no confidence” in Chancellor Wise, following her decision to terminate Dr. Steven Salaita’s appointment as a tenured faculty member at UIUC. I admire the resolution of your respective departments in issuing these no-confidence votes: it is never easy to reach consensus on such issues among faculty with widely differing views on constitutional law, middle east politics, and the governance of the university. It speaks to the clarity of this case, and of the wrong that was done to both Dr. Salaita and your university, that fourteen UIUC departments have issued unified no-confidence votes stemming from this breach of academic freedom and the norms of shared governance. 

Today the UIUC Board of Trustees voted to uphold the Chancellor’s decision to terminate Dr. Salaita’s position. Despite the strong support for Dr. Salaita that has emerged since his firing, despite the condemnation of Chancellor Wise’s decision by prominent academic organizations, and despite a growing boycott of UIUC in support of academic freedom — despite all of this, the Board’s decision today comes as no surprise. “Stay the course” has become the unwavering motto of university administrations in times of crisis, particularly when managing the fallout of unpopular or unjust decisions. At UC Davis, where I was Assistant Professor of English from 2008-2014, the pepper-spraying of student protesters in 2011 drew international condemnation. The administrative response to this incident followed the same playbook as that which now appears to guide your Chancellor. Investigations were called for, meetings for dialogue and conversation were convened, and the matter made its way through the Academic Senate. But at the end of the day, and after some apologies, what emerged were new guidelines for managing student protest that were more restrictive than those in place before. A protocol was established that implicitly warranted future violations of free speech and the right to free assembly on campus. I fear the same outcome at UIUC. Already, a Special Committee of the Faculty Senate has called for a protocol specifying the role of the administration in faculty hires, a measure which may open the door for further interference by donors and senior administration, rather than closing that door and reestablishing the power of faculty over hiring decisions.

The problem that we face as faculty is that when shared governance is violated by upper administration with such catastrophic results, recourse through normal channels of complaint and investigation too often fails to correct the violation. In short, it alarms me that the case of Dr. Salaita’s unjust firing may follow such channels, and in the end the injustice will nevertheless be upheld. It alarms me that he will eventually be offered a settlement by UIUC’s legal team, have no choice but to take it, and that will be the end of the matter. It seems imperative that faculty make manifest our uncompromising refusal to accept unacceptable decisions by the administrations of our universities: decisions that compromise the very nature of the institutions at which we teach. It is important that we write letters on behalf of Dr. Salaita, that we organize petitions, boycotts, and no-confidence votes in support of his reinstatement. But when these measures are ignored, I think we are left with no recourse but to refuse to work for an institution that overrules shared governance, violates academic freedom, and makes a mockery of respect for its faculty.

It is under these conditions that I write to urge your departments to begin organizing a faculty strike for the winter semester at UIUC. Such an action could rally around one clear, simple, and just demand: until Dr. Salaita is teaching at this university, we are not teaching at this university. 

I have no doubt that considerable obstacles will have to be overcome in organizing such an action, and that it will face significant logistical challenges. But I also have no doubt that, short of a faculty work stoppage, Dr. Salaita’s termination will remain a fait accompli, a decision upheld by the Chancellor, the UI President, and the Trustees against all internal and external pressure. On the other hand, a determined strike carried out even by those departments which have already voted no-confidence would pose an insurmountable problem for the university, which would have to be answered by administrative action. I believe that if the single demand of Dr. Salaita’s reinstatement were insisted upon with consequences that became inescapable, that demand might be met. 

I also believe that a faculty work stoppage on this basis would draw broad support, nationally and internationally. Indeed, the violation of academic freedom in this case is so flagrant and so publicly visible, the demand for the reversal of that violation so clear, that UIUC has an important opportunity to take the lead in ensuring that such violations do not become the norm. If you agree that further action must be taken on this case, and that a work stoppage presents the most forceful and consequential means of insisting upon Dr. Salaita’s reinstatement, a faculty strike support committee of supporters outside of UIUC could be organized to help you carry out this action and to support it nationally and internationally. 

Doubtless conversations about this possibility are already taking place at UIUC. I write simply because I know of no other efficacious route, at the moment, to pledge my support for consequential action. My hope is that faculty around the country can come together in helping your departments insist that administrative violations of shared governance and academic freedom are not only unacceptable, but also that they will not be accepted. 

Sincerely,

Nathan Brown
Assistant Professor of English
Concordia University, Montréal

Steven Salaita: "The answer is in this room. It would be one of the greatest honors of my life to work here"

I don't think I'm unique when I say I was motivated to join the #boycottUIUC movement for two reasons. 

1) I support academic freedom and faculty governance, the issues raised by the #Salaita case, and it's just wrong of Wise, Easter, Kennedy and the others to endanger a century of work on those issues; we follow some giants in Dewey and Lovejoy, founders of the AAUP. 

2) I support the person, Steven Salaita, even though I had never met him or heard him speak or read his work when it all started. Because it's just wrong to hurt a person the way he's been hurt by Wise, Easter, Kennedy, and the others -- endangering his career, keeping him from what he loves doing, stopping his life's work, all to curry favor with rich people.

But it's also very good to be able finally to hear from Salaita, the person at the center, the person we support along with the issues, for he sounds like someone I would be proud to have as a colleague, someone who is committed to his craft, his teaching and writing, and someone who is handling a terrible amount of pressure with wit, grace, and courage.

Partial evidence for this claim can be found at 43:30 of the clip. It forms the title here. It's in response to the question "after all this, why do you want to work here?"

 

Over 550 philosophers now boycotting UIUC over the handling of the Salaita case

Monday 8 August, 2014

Board of Trustees
University of Illinois

Dr Phyllis Wise
Chancellor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Dear Members of the Board
Dear Chancellor Wise

Please find attached a pledge by 550 philosophers to, at the minimum, refuse visits to UIUC; some will no doubt go further and refuse to write promotion and tenure letters, refuse to recommend students, and pursue other means at their disposal to isolate the University as the result of the actions of Chancellor Wise.  We join thousands of other academics in many disciplines in making this stand; we will not waver and are committed to this for as long as necessary. Our signers come from big and small institutions; they are established figures and brave early career folks; they come from the US, Canada, the UK, France, Austria, and a number of other countries. 

We ask that you reverse the ill-considered decisions and statements of 2 August and 22 August, and instead affirm Professor Salaita’s offer, which was given and accepted in good faith. Vital principles of academic freedom and faculty governance are at stake and so the case is being very widely discussed all across the academic world. 

Academic freedom has immeasurably enriched American society by offering room for vigorous and spirited debate. By making the decisions you did, you have damaged a great tradition in American civic life and grievously harmed the reputation of the university, which until now had been among the greatest in the country. 

It is not too late to undo the harm you have done. By reversing course and doing the right thing here in the Salaita case, your role in affirming this great tradition will be long remember and celebrated. 

Respectfully yours, on behalf of the signatories

John Protevi
Chair, Department of French Studies
Phyllis M Taylor Professor of French Studies
Professor of Philosophy
416 Hodges Hall
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge LA 70803 USA

As with all the other signatories, my affiliation is here given for identification purposes only and does not imply I speak as a representative of my institution. 

UIUC departments voting no confidence

Please send links and I'll fill them in later. 

1) American Indian Studies

2) Asian-American Studies

3) Philosophy

4) English

5) Latina/Latino Studies

6) History

7)  Comparative and World Literature (download a pdf by clicking the link)

8) Anthropology

9) French & Italian

10) Religion (download a pdf by clicking the link)

11) East Asian Languages and Cultures

12) Geography and Geographic Information Science (download a pdf by clicking the link)

13) Gender and Women's Studies 

14) Sociology (download a pdf by clicking the link)

15) Educational Policy, Organization and Leadership (this is a statement signed by 16 members of the department; it is not presented as an official department vote but I include it here by request of the signatories)

16) African American Studies

Open Letters from scholarly associations on the Salaita case

I will update as needed. Please comment below with links, or email me at [email protected]

1.  Modern Language Association (MLA)

2.  Association of American University Professors (AAUP)

3.  American Historical Association (AHA)

4.  American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA)

5.  American Studies Association (ASA)

6.  Cultural Studies Association (CSA)

7.  Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA)

8.  American Anthropological Association (AAA)

9.  Middle Eastern Studies Association of North America (MESA)

10. California Scholars For Academic Freedom (CSAF)

11. American Sociological Association (ASA) (click to download pdf)

UIUC English department votes no confidence in Chancellor and Board

Link. The statment:

On September 2, 2014, the faculty of the Department of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign cast a vote of no confidence in the Board of Trustees, President Robert Easter, and Chancellor Phyllis Wise.

This no confidence vote follows the university administration’s decision to rescind a tenured job offer in American Indian Studies to Professor Steven Salaita. The English department’s vote expresses grave disappointment in the way the administration has overridden the multiple levels of rigorous faculty review that make up any offer of a tenured position at our university. We are deeply troubled by the disregard for academic freedom, freedom of speech, and the principles of shared governance as well as the complete lack of faculty consultation that the administration has demonstrated. In addition, we are concerned about the possibility that the administration’s decision was influenced by political considerations and by the interference of donors and alumni. If this decision is not reversed, we fear that the reputation of the University of Illinois as a site of scholarly excellence and diverse viewpoints will suffer permanent damage. In the face of the administration’s troubling actions, we call for the reinstatement of Professor Salaita and we reaffirm the established protocols for hiring, tenure, and promotion that have allowed us to recruit and retain top faculty.

UIUC cancellations

I'm going to make this a compilation of cancellation letters for talks at UIUC in the Salaita case. Please send notices to me at [email protected] or comment here with links and I'll do updates. 

1. Bruce Robbins, Old Dominion Professor in the Humanities, Columbia University, cancelled a showing of his film scheduled for October. 

2. David Blacker, Professor of Philosophy of Education and Legal Studies, University of Delaware, cancelled a talk scheduled for September 29, kicking off the 2014-15 CAS / MillerComm annual series. 

3. Allen Isaacman, Regents Professor of History, University of Minnesota, cancelled a talk scheduled for October 30, also as part of the 2014-15 CAS / MillerComm annual series. 

4. Kyla Wazana Tompkins, Associate Professor of English and of Gender and Women's Studies, Pomona College, cancelled a talk scheduled for September 18 

5. Eric Schwitzgebel, Professor of Philosophy, University of California, Riverside, cancelled a talk scheduled for December in the Department of Philosophy.

6. Jonathan Judaken, Spence L. Wilson Chair in Humanities, Rhodes College, cancelled a talk scheduled for October 10-11 at the Existentialism and Postcolonialism colloquium.

7. Julie Livingston, Professor of History, Rutgers University, cancelled a talk scheduled for September 17 for University of Illinois - Chicago (UIC), naming the Salaita boycott as the reason.

8. Katherine Franke, Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law, Columbia Law School, cancelled a talk scheduled for late September, but will instead participate in an off-campus discussion of the Salaita case. (H/T Brian Leiter for the info.)

9. A PDF poster is here with many more cancellations, including this series of special note to philosophers:

Department of Philosophy Fall Colloquia Series: Jeff McMahan, Oxford; Jonathan Kvanvig, Baylor; David Ebbrey, Northwestern; Rafaella de Rosa, Rutgers - Newark; Eric Schwitzgebel, UC Riverside.

10. Jennifer Lackey, Professor of Philosophy, Northwestern cancelled a talk.

11. Darren Sherkat, Professor of Sociology, Southern Illinois University cancelled a talk.

12. Mark van Roojen, Professor of Philosophy, University of Nebraska cancelled a talk.

13. Alice Pawley, Professor of Engineering, Purdue University cancelled a talk.

14. Julie Greene, Professor of History, University of Maryland, cancelled a talk scheduled for Spring 2015. 

In addition to these talks,

1. The Education Justice Project cancelled their 2014 conference, scheduled for October 9-12.

2. The Existentialism and Postcolonialism colloquium is cancelled. 

UIUC philosophy department votes no confidence in Chancellor Wise and Board of Trustees

The statement: 

Whereas the recent words and actions of Chancellor Phyllis Wise, President Robert Easter, and the Board of Trustees in connection with the revocation of an offer of employment to Dr. Steven Salaita betray a culpable disregard not only for academic freedom and free speech generally but also for the principles of shared governance and established protocols for hiring, tenure, and promotion, the faculty of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign declares its lack of confidence in the leadership of the current Chancellor, President, and Board of Trustees.

Boycott UIUC pledge for scientists and engineers

The pledge:

We, the undersigned scientists and engineers, will not visit the University of Illinois at  Urbana-Champaign campus until the Steven Salaita case is equitably resolved. 

You may sign the pledge by entering a comment below, giving your name, discipline, and institutional affiliation, which is understood to be for identification purposes only and does not imply that you act on behalf of your institution. Comments are moderated and may take a few hours to appear. Please spread the word among your friends and ask them to sign as well. If you tweet the URL you may wish to use the following hashtags: #boycottUIUC and #Salaita.

The following is an open letter from Alan Sokal of the NYU Department of Physics. 

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My friend Paul Boghossian (NYU Philosophy) has drawn my attention to a shocking case involving academic freedom at the University of Illinois, which has drawn a protest from over 3000 American and international scholars.

Professor Steven Salaita resigned his tenured position at Virginia Tech on the basis of a tenured offer from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in October 2013. (link) While the offer was awaiting routine approval by the Board of Trustees, UIUC Chancellor Phyllis Wise summarily revoked the offer on August 1, 2014, apparently on the basis of some of Professor Salaita's Twitter comments concerning Israeli actions in Gaza; some commentators (not all) consider the tweets to be intemperate. 

More disturbingly yet, the Chancellor attempted to justify her position by saying that

What we cannot and will not tolerate at the University of Illinois are personal and disrespectful words or actions that demean and abuse either viewpoints themselves or those who express them. (link)

Putting aside the bizarre notion that an idea can feel "demeaned" or "abused", the Chancellor's position implies that the University of Illinois will not tolerate biologists or physicists who are "disrespectful" (in her sole judgment) of creationists or even of creationism.

Moreover, and perhaps more disturbingly, the University of Illinois Board of Trustees officially endorsed the Chancellor's decision and reasoning, using the same specious "civility" standard (link).

For two excellent legal analyses, see the article by Brian Leiter (University of Chicago, Law) in Huffington Post (link) and this article by Michael C. Dorf (Cornell University, Law)   (link).

In response to the Chancellor's and Trustees' intransigence, over 3000 scholars worldwide (link) have publicly declared that they will boycott the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign until this decision is reversed.

If you wish to join them, you may sign this pledge by commenting to that effect below, giving your name, discipline, and instutional affiliation. 

        -- Alan Sokal

P.S. After an FOIA demand, Inside Higher Education published a story on August 25, 2014 revealing that Chancellor Wise had, prior to her August 1 decision, received e-mails on the issue not only from students, parents and donors, but also from the fund-raising arm of UIUC. (link)

For some comments prompted by the Salaita case but also touching on the larger issue of how administrations are nowadays riding roughshod over faculty prerogatives, see this piece by Lennard Davis of the University of Illinois at Chicago (link).

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**Please note that institutional affiliations of the signatories are for identification purposes only and do not imply that the signatories are speaking on behalf of the institution.**

Email sent to Professor Donald Chambers, Chair, University Senates committee of UI system

Sunday 24 August

Dear Professor Chambers

I was extremely disappointed to see you sign the Board’s letter, despite your position as Chair of the University Senates Conference. I felt shocked that you would allow a unilateral imposition of a “civility” standard that is dangerously vague and apparently to be placed under the judgment of university administrators.

I have spent many hours in the Faculty Senate of my home institution, and I am introducing a resolution at our first meeting this fall semester that will specifically mention this failure of judgment and betrayal of both academic freedom and faculty governance.

I urge you to reconsider your affirmation of this disastrous statement and to lead the Faculty Senates of the great institutions of the entire University of Illinois system in affirming not only Professor Salaita’s offer but also condemning and revoking this dangerous and unwarranted “civility” standard.

Respectfully yours,

John Protevi
Louisiana State University

My institutional affiliation is given solely for identification purposes and does not imply that I speak for the institution.

Email sent to UI Board and UIUC Chancellor Wise accompanying boycott pledge by 425 philosophers

Sunday 24 August, 2014

Board of Trustees
University of Illinois

Dr Phyllis Wise
Chancellor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Dear Members of the Board
Dear Chancellor Wise

On Thursday 21 August I sent you a copy of our pledge containing signatures of 250 philosophers who will not visit UIUC until the Salaita case is equitably resolved. Tonight our numbers have grown to 425, as you can see on the attached letter. We join thousands of other academics in many disciplines in making this stand; we will not waver and are committed to this for as long as necessary. Our signers come from big and small institutions; they are established figures and brave early career folks; they come from the US, Canada, the UK, France, Austria, and a number of other countries.

We ask that you reverse your ill-considered decision of Friday 22 August, and instead affirm Professor Salaita’s offer, which was given and accepted in good faith. Vital principles of academic freedom and faculty governance are at stake and as a result the case is being very widely discussed all across the academic world.

Academic freedom has immeasurably enriched American society by offering room for vigorous and spirited debate. By making the decisions you did, you have damaged a great tradition in American civic life and grievously harmed the reputation of the university, which until now had been among the greatest in the country.

It is not too late to undo the harm you have done. By reversing course and doing the right thing here in the Salaita case, your role in affirming this great tradition will be long remember and celebrated.

Respectfully yours, on behalf of the signatories

John Protevi
Louisiana State University

As with all the other signatories, my affiliation is here given for identification purposes only and does not imply I speak as a representative of my institution.

Suport Salaita fundraising: donate an amount equal to list price of David Blacker's book!

David Blacker was one of the first scholars to cancel a talk at UIUC in support of the #boycottUIUC action. I've just bought his book, The Falling Rate of Learning and the Neoliberal Endgame (Zero Books, 2013). (Publisher link here; Amazon link here). I donated an amount equal to the price to the Support Salaita fund, and want to ask everyone to do the same.

The Support Salaita site has this preamble: 

Help support Steven Salaita’s case against the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign for its unethical and unconstitutional firing of him only 3 weeks before his scheduled classes were to begin, for speaking out against war and violence on Twitter.

Salaita now has no job nor does his wife who quit her job in Virginia to support the family’s move, no personal home to live in, and no health insurance for their family, including their two year-old son.

But even beyond the immediate tie-in with the Salaita case, I'm very eager to read Blacker's work. It's was quite widely reviewed: Salon, Inside Higher Ed, Times Higher Ed, Radical Philosophy, S.China Morning Post, Counterfire and others. Here are some audio interviews as well: Extraenvironmentalist, Majority Report, Alpha2Omega, C-Realm 1/2, Diet Soap 1/2

Other titles by Blacker: Democratic Education Stretched Thin; Dying to Teach; Educator Ethics Series. 

LAST BUT NOT LEAST: here is the Amazon page for Salaita's books. Why not buy some of them and donate an amount equal to the price to the Support Salaita fund as well?

Another scholar cancels an appearance at Illinois to protest their violation of academic freedom in the Salaita -- and Kilgore -- cases

By permission of Allen Isaacman, University of Minnesota. Issacman had been invited to speak on October 30, as part of the 2014-15 CAS / MillerComm annual series (see the previous post for David Blacker's cancelation of another event in the series). Our respect and our thanks go to Professor Isaacman for his principled stand here. 

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Dear Professor Pitard,

I was honored to have been invited by the Center for Advanced Study to present a CAS/MillerComm lecture this fall.  I was, however, deeply troubled by the decision not to reappoint James Kilgore this Spring. The University of Illinois' recent decision to disregard  its prior commitment to appoint Professor Salaita, confirms my fear  of the administration's blatant disregard for academic freedom.

Silencing faculty or punishing them for their political, moral or ethical  views is indefensible. Unless and until the administration of  University of Illinois rescinds this decision, I will not participate in the CAS/MillerComm lecture series and I join with my distinguished colleague Professor Robin Kelly in refusing to set foot on your campus.

I do hope that  the University administration  will reverse its decision before it does irreparable harm to  your great institution. I also hope that we  will meet face-to-face in the near future. 

Sincerely,

Allen Isaacman

Regents Professor of History, University of Minnesota

Extraordinary Professor, University of Western Cape

A scholar declines an invitation to Illinois, refusing to cooperate in their violation of academic freedom in the Salaita affair

With permission from David Blacker, University of Delaware. Blacker had been invited to speak September 29, kicking off the 2014-15 CAS / MillerComm annual series. Canceling a scheduled event is not an easy step for anyone to take, and in this case, it is especially difficult in that the Department of Philosophy and the Department of Education Policy are co-sponsors and Professor Blacker got his doctoral degree from Illinois. So we owe our thanks to him for this action and for this letter. 

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August 20, 2014

Professor Leon DeCosta Dash, Director
Ms. Masumi lriye, Deputy Director
Center for Advanced Study
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Dear Professor Dash and Ms. lriye,

I regret to inform you that I must cancel my CAS/MillerComm lecture at the University of Illinois scheduled for September 29. I was very much looking forward to returning to Champaign -Urbana and engaging with colleagues, students and members of the community.  And I am deeply sorry to the individuals throughout U. of I. who were helping to make the event possible, including the co-sponsoring units and departments . I am honored by and appreciative of those efforts.

I have decided I must honor the growing worldwide pledge of academics not to appear at U. of I. unless the Salaita matter is acceptably resolved. I refer of course to the University's recent punishment of Professor Salaita for engaging in political speech in a public forum. I neither endorse nor reject any of Sa Iaita's remarks and their substance is not relevant to my decision to cancel. Neither do I base my decision on a n assessment of the affair 's constitutional-legal aspects, which are uncertain. My decision is not about Israel/Palestine and it is not about legal nuance.

My concern has to do with the academic freedom needed by scholars in order to do our job properly. Academic freedom does not exist when it is withheld from scholars with unpopular or even "offensive" views. As an educator and citizen, I agree strongly with Justice Brandeis that "If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education,the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence (1927)." Instead of choosing education and more speech as the remedy for disagreeable speech,the U. of I. has apparently chosen "enforced silence." It thus violates what a university must stand for -- whatever else it stands for -- and therefore I join those who will not participate in the violation. In my judgment, this is a core and non-negotiable issue of academic freedom.

My hope is that the U. of I. will relent and restore its good name.  I would be delighted to reschedule my talk if and when this happens.

Sincerely,

David J. Blacker
Director, Legal Studies Program
Professor, School of Education

P.S.  In no way do I speak for the University of Delaware or any of its subunits.  These are my views alone.

Summing up my take on the Salaita affair so far

A reporter called me today and asked for a statement. [Update: link to the story.] I thought I would take the chance to gather my thoughts on the Salaita affair to date. As to the statement of goals, I think I'm just restating what's been said in many of the letters of complaint and the no-visit pledges. Text follows:

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Please note that in this matter — and in all matters in which I speak on matters of public concern — I speak solely as an individual scholar. My affiliation details are for identification purposes only and should not be taken to imply that I am speaking in any capacity as an institutional representative.

I do however claim the traditional rights of academic freedom as they are codified by the AAUP: http://www.aaup.org/issues/academic-freedom. In particular I reject Cary Nelson’s misjudgments in this matter and would like it noted that his position has been repudiated by the national office of the AAUP: http://www.aaup.org/media-release/statement-case-steven-salaita. 

See also statements by the Illinois chapter of the AAUP:http://academeblog.org/2014/08/06/illinois-aaup-committee-a-statement-on-steven-salaita-and-uiuc/ and by the CFA of UIUC:http://cfaillinois.org/2014/08/07/cfa-statement-on-steven-salaita-and-u-of-illinois/

See also this statement by noted law school professors:https://www.dropbox.com/s/gxfbptf2t0d17vw/Faculty%20Letter%20to%20U%20of%20I.pdf

This is however not simply a matter of the individual academic freedom of Professor Salaita, though that would be enough to justify our actions. It is also a matter of supporting our colleagues at Illinois in the exercise of their rights to faculty governance and in particular their rights as to faculty hiring without arbitrary or worse, motivated, administrative interference well outside normal procedures, as in this case. 

As for the technicalities proferred by Nelson and others as to Salaita's exact contractual status, how could Board approval be anything other than pro forma if Salaita’s classes were scheduled to begin before the Board next meets? 

See also this quote from a university spokesperson on July 22, referring to Salaita as already an “employee” of the university: http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2014-07-22/updated-soon-be-ui-profs-mideast-posts-drawing-ire.html

“Faculty have a wide range of scholarly and political views, and we recognize the freedom-of-speech rights of all of our employees,” Kaler said in response to the tweets. 

As to our goals then: we respectfully but firmly demand that Professor Salaita’s contract be honored according to standard academic custom in which Board of Trustees approval is pro forma. We thus urge Chancellor Wise not only to forward Salaita’s contract to the Board for approval but to do everything in her power to ensure it is approved.