Tag Archives: U of Illinois

U Illinois urged to reinstate prof Salaita, critic of Israeli war in Gaza

Democracy Now!, September 9, 2014– As the fall school term begins, an Illinois college campus is embroiled in one of the nation’s biggest academic freedom controversies in recent memory. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has sparked an outcry over its withdrawal of a job offer to a professor critical of the Israeli government. Steven Salaita was due to start work at the university as a tenured professor in the American Indian Studies Program. But after posting a series of tweets harshly critical of this summer’s Israeli assault on Gaza, Salaita was told the offer was withdrawn. The school had come under pressure from donors, students, parents and alumni critical of Salaita’s views, with some threatening to withdraw financial support. Thousands of academics have signed petitions calling for Salaita’s reinstatement, and several lecturers have canceled appearances in protest. The American Association of University Professors has called the school’s actions “inimical to academic freedom and due process.” A number of Urbana-Champaign departments have passed votes of no-confidence in the chancellor, Phyllis Wise. And today, Urbana-Champaign students will be holding a campus walkout and day of silence in support of Salaita. We are joined by two guests: Columbia University law professor Katherine Franke, who has canceled a lecture series at Urbana-Champaign in protest of Salaita’s unhiring; and Kristofer Petersen-Overton, a scholar who went through a similar incident in 2011 when Brooklyn College reversed a job offer after complaints about his Middle East views, only to reinstate it following a public outcry.

TRANSCRIPT

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AARON MATÉ: As the fall school term begins, an Illinois college campus is embroiled in one of the nation’s biggest academic freedom controversies in recent memory. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has sparked an outcry over its withdrawal of a job offer to a professor critical of the Israeli government. Steven Salaita was due to start work at Urbana-Champaign as a tenured professor in the American Indian Studies Program. But after posting a series of tweets harshly critical of the summer’s assault on Gaza, Salaita was told the offer was withdrawn. Urbana-Champaign has come under pressure from donors, students, parents and alumni critical of Salaita’s views, with some threatening to withdraw financial support.

The move has been criticized both in and outside of the school, with administrators accused of political censorship. Thousands of academics have signed petitions calling for Salaita’s reinstatement, and several lecturers have canceled appearances in protest. The American Association of University Professors has called the school’s actions “inimical to academic freedom and due process.” A number of school departments have passed votes of no-confidence in the chancellor, Phyllis Wise. And today, students will be holding a campus walkout and a day of silence in support of Salaita. A news conference is being held, where Salaita is expected to make his first public comments since his unhiring last month.

AMY GOODMAN: In a public statement, Chancellor Phyllis Wise said her decision to unhire Salaita “was not influenced in any way by his positions on the conflict in the Middle East nor his criticism of Israel.” She goes on to write, quote, “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,” unquote. The school has now reportedly offered Salaita a financial settlement for his troubles. The school’s Board of Trustees is expected to take up the controversy at a meeting on Thursday.

For more, we’re joined by two guests. Kristofer Petersen-Overton is an adjunct lecturer of political science at Lehman College. In 2011, Brooklyn College initially decided not to hire Petersen-Overton as an adjunct professor for a seminar on Middle East politics. But the school reversed its decision after criticism that the decision was politically motivated. And Katherine Franke joins us. She’s a professor of law at Columbia University and the director of the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law. She recently canceled a lecture series at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in protest of Steven Salaita’s unhiring.

Professor Franke, let’s begin with you. Talk about the facts of this case and how you got involved.

KATHERINE FRANKE: Well, Professor Salaita was previously a professor at Virginia Tech University, and he had a well-known dossier of books and articles thinking critically about the relationship between indigeneity, meaning native people, and the political environments in which they live—hard questions about dispossession, belonging, state violence and identity. And because of that important scholarly record, the University of Illinois went after him—in a friendly way, unlike what they’re doing now. And he was hired by an overwhelming vote by the American Indian Studies Program there in the normal way that we hire faculty in universities. An offer letter was issued to him. He accepted it. They paid for his moving expenses. He quit his job, a tenured position in Virginia. And he has a small child and a family and a wife, and was ready to move. His course books had been ordered. He had been invited by the university to the faculty welcome luncheon.

And then, on August 1st, he got a letter from the chancellor saying, “We’re sorry, we’re not going to be able to employ you here, because I haven’t taken the last step, which I had not informed you about before, of taking your candidacy to the Board of Trustees.” He had assumed he had an accepted job offer. He had relied on that offer—and at his peril. He now doesn’t have a home, doesn’t have a job and doesn’t have an income.

So what we now have learned, through a FOIA request and the disclosure of emails at the university, is that there was enormous pressure put on the chancellor and the Board of Trustees by large donors of the university, who said, “I’ll take my six-figure donations away if you hire this guy.” And this is as a result of some tweets that Professor Salaita made over the summer during the heat of the Gaza—the Israeli assault on Gaza. He was very upset about it. He himself is Palestinian. He was watching children die and the destruction of Gazan villages that we all watched. And like many of us, he was quite impassioned and used colorful language on Twitter to express his views, and that those tweets somehow made their way to donors at the University of Illinois. And so, the job, as been described even here in the setup, is either withdrawn or somehow not—well, what has happened is he’s just been fired. And so he’s now organizing, along with the rest of us, a response to what is a deliberate campaign by a number of political operatives who put pressure on universities like the University of Illinois to censor critical scholarship, critical comments, critical research about Israeli state policy.

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Program Cuts Loom at 4 Public Universities – SUNY, Missouri, Illinois, Louisiana

The Chronicle: Program Cuts Loom at 4 Public Universities

Financially strapped public colleges and universities are living in the shadow of the ax this semester, enduring a renewed stream of announcements of potential or actual faculty layoffs and program closures.

Teaching Assistants Suspend Strike at U. of Illinois

The Chronicle: Teaching Assistants Suspend Strike at U. of Illinois

Graduate students who work as teaching assistants and researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign suspended a labor strike Tuesday night after informally agreeing to the terms of a new contract with the campus’s administration.

Strike Begins at Illinois

Inside Higher Ed: Strike Begins at Illinois

As graduate teaching assistants formed picket lines on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus Monday, administrators tried to assuage concerns that the university is maneuvering to end tuition waivers.

The Graduate Employees Organization (GEO), a union affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, commenced a strike Monday after contract negotiations broke down over a single issue. The GEO, which represents about 2,700 student employees, agreed to strike when administrators rejected a demand for more robust protections of tuition waivers. The university put forward its own language on the issue, but GEO leaders said it fell short of ensuring that waivers for out of state students would be retained.

Strike by Graduate Teaching Assistants Disrupts Some Classes at U. of Illinois

The Chronicle: Strike by Graduate Teaching Assistants Disrupts Some Classes at U. of Illinois

Many classrooms at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are sitting empty today as a result of a strike by graduate students who teach or do research.

About 1,000 graduate students employed by the university have signed up to picket academic buildings in shifts today, with about 500 on the lines at any one time, said Peter O. Campbell, a spokesman for the Graduate Employees Organization, which has about 2,600 members. Graduate students generally teach about 23 percent of all undergraduate course hours on the campus.

Teaching Assistants Plan Strike at U. of Illinois

Inside Higher Ed: Teaching Assistants Plan Strike at U. of Illinois

Graduate teaching assistants at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are planning to go on strike today, following the failure to complete a contract agreement. The union, affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, said that while many contract issues were resolved, the university would not offer assurances about the continuation of tuition waivers. “The administration’s refusal to guarantee the continuation of its current tuition waiver practice not only means that the majority of graduate employees could be forced to pay thousands of dollars in additional tuition charges, but also indicates its plans to implement such a change. By making graduate education untenable for all but the most affluent students, the administration is abandoning its responsibility to ensure access to the highest level of public education for all,” said a union statement. The university issued a statement in which it characterized the union’s interest in tuition waivers as new and not a subject over great disagreements. The union “has chosen to strike over an issue that historically has never been a source of contention between the union and management, and about which there is no indication would be a source of contention in the future,” said the university’s official statement. In turn, the union issued a new statement asking why, if the university was committed to the tuition waivers, it wouldn’t agree to add the desired language to the contract.

The Chronicle: Graduate Teaching Assistants Are Poised to Strike at U. of Illinois

Graduate students who teach and do research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign plan to go on strike early Monday.

Weekend negotiations between the graduate students’ union and the university failed to produce a guarantee the union wants from administrators that the institution will continue tuition waivers, the Graduate Employees’ Organization said. Without such waivers, many graduate students may have to shoulder an increase in the cost of their education.

Rejected applicant sues U. of I. over ‘clout list’

Chicago Tribune: Rejected applicant sues U. of I. over ‘clout list’
Suit seeks class-action status, more than $5 million in damages

A rejected applicant sued the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on Tuesday, alleging unfair admissions practices because the school had maintained a “clout list,” accepting students ba

U. of Illinois President Resigns in Wake of Admissions Scandal

The Chronicle: U. of Illinois President Resigns in Wake of Admissions Scandal
Report Calls on All U. of Illinois Trustees to Resign

In his resignation letter, B. Joseph White wrote: “The notion that I would submit to pressure — or apply pressure — for admissions or anything else in order to please the high and mighty is dead wrong.”

The admissions scandal at the University of Illinois claimed its highest-ranking victim on Wednesday, when B. Joseph White, president of the three-campus system, announced he was resigning, effective December 31.

B. Joseph White resigns as president of the University of Illinois

B. Joseph White resigns as president of the University of Illinois

Trustees to consider interim appointment, plan search for successor

URBANA, Ill. —University of Illinois President B. Joseph White will resign as the 16th president of the university effective Dec. 31 of this year, but he will remain involved with the University in roles that include fundraising and teaching. The Board of Trustees is expected to consider an interim appointment to lead the University during a search for a new president.

Illinois Faculty Senate Backs Ouster of University’s Leaders

Daily Illini: U-C Senate approves admissions resolution

he Urbana-Champaign Senate voted in favor of resolution SC.10.01B Monday, which called for the removal of President B. Joseph White and Chancellor Richard Herman.

New U. of I. board eliminates preferential admissions

Chicago Tribune: New U. of I. board eliminates preferential admissions

URBANA – — Hoping to end a “sorry chapter” in University of Illinois’ history, new board chair Christopher Kennedy and other trustees voted Thursday to eliminate all preferential admissions practices that led to a massive scandal at the state’s most prestigious campus.

U of Illinois’s Global Campus staffers given notice of layoffs

News-Gazette: UI’s Global Campus staffers given notice of layoffs

URBANA – Virtually the entire University of Illinois Global Campus staff, which services about 500 students in the online education program, has been notified of layoffs.

Meanwhile, the leader of Global Campus has moved back to faculty status but retains the $344,850 salary he earned as administrator, at least for the next year.

U. of I. admissions scandal: Faculty panel wants leadership change at school

Chicago Tribune: U. of I. admissions scandal: Faculty panel wants leadership change at school
Replacing Herman and White best for school, panel says

University of Illinois faculty leaders urged Thursday that the institution’s president and chancellor be replaced to restore public confidence following a monthslong admissions scandal.

“An orderly transition to new leadership for both of these positions is in the best interests of this campus, and the university,” according to a statement approved by the 15-member Senate Executive Committee.

Report Calls on All U. of Illinois Trustees to Resign

Inside Higher Ed: Damning Report on Illinois Scandal

When the Chicago Tribune revealed in May that the University of Illinois had used a “clout” admissions system — in which trustees and senior administrators pressured admissions officers on behalf of politically connected applicants — the university insisted that its admissions system was fundamentally fair and running well.

The Chronicle: Report Calls on All U. of Illinois Trustees to Resign

After spending nearly two months investigating an admissions scandal laced with political favoritism at the University of Illinois, a state-appointed panel issued its final report on Thursday, calling for the resignation of all members of the Board of Trustees, an overhaul of the admissions process, and new ethics policies for the board.

Illinois: Ex-dean calls herself ‘victim’ of admissions scandal

Chicago Tribune: Ex-dean calls herself ‘victim’ of admissions scandal

After testimony on University of Illinois abuses, Heidi Hurd left message praising chancellor she had criticized

A former University of Illinois law school dean has made a final effort to distance herself from an admissions scandal, writing a lengthy letter to the state panel charged with investigating the practices.

Heidi Hurd — who testified before the Illinois Admission Review Commission nearly a month ago — sent a 15-page letter late last week in which she describes herself as a “victim” of the school’s clout lists, not a “perpetrator,” and details her efforts to push back against them.

Board Chairman Quits at U. of Illinois Amid Scandal Over Favoritism in Admissions

The Chronicle: Board Chairman Quits at U. of Illinois Amid Scandal Over Favoritism in Admissions

Three days after an investigative commission called on all politically appointed trustees of the University of Illinois to quit, the board chairman announced his resignation today, amid a scandal over the admission of politically connected applicants who were unqualified academically. According to the Chicago Tribune, which has uncovered a host of examples of students getting admitted because of who they knew, not what they knew, the board chairman, Niranjan Shah, sought advantages for both relatives and friends. His resignation comes days before the investigative panel is expected to release a final report on the affair.

University of Illinois trustee resigns over admissions scandal

Chicago Tribune: University of Illinois trustee resigns over admissions scandal
Trustee Lawrence Eppley urges other board members to quit

A University of Illinois trustee’s resignation Tuesday made him the first casualty of the school’s high-profile admissions scandal, though fellow board members and those investigating abuses suggested that others are likely to fall.

Trustee Lawrence Eppley quit in a two-page letter to Gov. Pat Quinn that implored his fellow board members to step down along with him. He also urged administrators at the Urbana-Champaign campus to take responsibility for their actions in order to help the university regain the state’s trust.

Trustee requested job help at U. of I.

Chicago Tribune: Trustee requested job help at U. of I.
University gave future son-in-law tailor-made, $115,000-a-year position

University of Illinois board chair Niranjan Shah used his connection with the chancellor in 2007 to get a high-paying university job for his future son-in-law, a Dutch citizen seeking work in the United States.

New Allegations in Admissions Controversy at U. of Illinois Suggest Ex-Provost Played a Role

Chicago Tribune: Giannoulias aide put kid on clout list for priest
Greek Orthodox leader who vouched for girl helped treasurer raise campaign cash

When a politically connected Greek Orthodox priest wanted help getting the daughter of a family friend into the University of Illinois, he reached out to a campaign adviser to state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.

UC Davis chancellor faces questions about scandal

Mercury News: UC Davis chancellor faces questions about scandal

SACRAMENTO—An admissions scandal at the University of Illinois has reached California, where an incoming campus chancellor is facing questions about a secretive process that benefited the children of politicians and the politically connected.

Linda Katehi, a provost and head of academic affairs at the university’s main campus in Champaign, denies wrongdoing and has not been called to testify in a state investigation.