POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN
Below is the text of an open letter signed by 135 members of the University of Nebraska faculty expressing concern that “decisions involving the future of the University are being made without transparency or proper governance and under improper exertions of influence by the legislative and executive branches of the state government.” Additional signatures are being sought from members of the university faculty. These will be accepted until Monday, December 4th at 5:00 pm. On Tuesday, December 5th, the letter will be presented to the Board of Regents. UN faculty members who wish to sign the letter should contact either Stephen Ramsay at sramsay@protonmail.com or Julia Schleck at julia.schleck@protonmail.com).
The letter was prompted by actions taken by state politicians following a September incident in which Courtney Lawton, a sixth-year doctoral student with a part-time appointment as a lecturer in the English department, was suspended for protesting the presence on campus of a recruitment table for Turning Point USA, an extreme, right-wing organization that maintains the Professor Watchlist website. The administration initially cited “security reasons” for the suspension and gave the lecturer a letter of reprimand. This month she was informed that she will remain on suspension until the end of the academic year. Yesterday the national AAUP sent a letter to University of Nebraska administrators regarding the case. The Association’s letter notes that the administration’s November 20 public statement announcing extension of the suspension “makes evident that Ms. Lawton’s continued suspension is being imposed as a disciplinary sanction rather than as a means of preserving her safety and that of her students.” As the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure, issued by the AAUP and the Association of American Colleges and Universities, states, “a suspension which is not followed by either reinstatement or the opportunity for a hearing is in effect a summary dismissal in violation of academic due process.” The letter further states, “In addition to the evident procedural issues, we remain concerned that Ms. Lawton was suspended in response to her speech as a citizen, raising questions whether the action infringed upon her academic freedom. These questions remain unresolved in the absence of affordance to Ms. Lawton of any academic due process.” The full letter from national AAUP may be found here. A previous letter from September may be found here.
An Open Letter from University of Nebraska Faculty on Recent Attacks on Our Institution
To the University of Nebraska Community:
We are concerned that at the highest levels of the University of Nebraska system, decisions involving the future of the University are being made without transparency or proper governance and under improper exertions of influence by the legislative and executive branches of the state government. We fear that financial hostage-taking by members of the state government will result in changes by the administration in the intellectual offerings of the University and opportunities for our students. We believe it is imperative to express our alarm now, before irrevocable damage is done to the mission of the university and the value it contributes to the state of Nebraska. We insist that no radical changes be undertaken in the administration, academic programs, allocation of funds, or support for campus initiatives without appropriate faculty governance, transparency, and respect for academic freedom, which are core values of a healthy university.
Members of the state legislature strongly tied to Governor Pete Ricketts, including senators Steve Halloran, Steve Erdman, and Tom Brewer, along with staff of anti-public-education nonprofits affiliated with Governor Ricketts, such as School Choice Lincoln, have leveraged a single campus interaction into a sustained attack on the University that has greatly surpassed the scope and import of the initial incident. These senators have called for an end to tenure, demanded further budget cuts, and have written a letter censuring the mission statement and curriculum of the Department of English. A number of that department’s faculty have since been aggressively targeted by sweeping open records requests made by the Governor’s allies, including a request that they turn over private email addresses and emails between the chair and faculty members who have publicly criticized members of the state government.
Under the pretense that the University is unsafe for conservative students, the Governor and his surrogates are opening the door to ideological intervention at the University from outside entities. Their lack of consistency in protecting and respecting students’ political views, particularly those that diverge from their own, reveals the political nature of this manufactured crisis. In contrast, we reaffirm what has always been our educational mission: helping students to understand a wide variety of ideas and viewpoints through the many classes they take, with the goal of producing informed citizens capable of making thoughtful independent decisions about how best to govern our society. We insist that this mission be respected and that the alarming politicized interventions in the work of the university be condemned and resisted, rather than validated by our administration.
Any ideological interference in university business from members of the state government will be a major blow to the University of Nebraska. It will diminish our reputation among our peer institutions in the Big Ten and have a detrimental impact on our ability to attract and retain world-class faculty, as well as to recruit and retain minoritized and underrepresented students, who will rightly fear that initiatives to welcome them and address their unique needs on campus will be characterized as hostile to the agenda of the overreaching state government.
We, the undersigned, expect our administration to stand for the values of the University of Nebraska, a large community of diverse people with diverse viewpoints, and the most significant institutional asset to the state of Nebraska. We understand this community as being committed to the pursuit of truth (wherever it may lead), to the inherent value of open discussion, and to the fundamental values of democracy and free expression. If the Governor or his surrogates in the legislature interfere with the intellectual freedom of the faculty, one of the state’s most precious resources will be squandered in a political power grab, as the quality of work at our university and the value of a degree from the University of Nebraska will quickly decline. We insist that all levels of the administration respect the governance structures currently in place, and categorically reject political interference in the good work being done at our state’s flagship institution.
1. Dr. Julia Schleck
AAUP Nebraska State Conference President
Associate Professor, Department of English
2. Dr. Stephen Ramsay
Committee A Chair, AAUP University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chapter
Susan J. Rosowski Associate University Professor, Department of English
Fellow, Center for Digital Research in the Humanities
3. Dr. Amanda Gailey
Associate Professor, Department of English
Fellow, Center for Digital Research in the Humanities
4. Prof. Timothy Schaffert
Susan J. Roswoski Associate University Professor, Department of English
Director of Creative Writing
5. Dr. Ari Kohen
Associate Professor of Political Science and Schlesinger Professor of Social Justice
6. Dr. Thomas Lynch
Professor, Department of English
7. Dr. Christina Brantner
Associate Professor, Modern Languages and Literatures
Former Director of Women’s Studies
8. Dr. Peter J. Capuano
Associate Professor of English
Director, Nineteenth-Century Studies Program
9. Dr. Thomas C. Gannon
Associate Professor of English and Ethnic Studies
Ethnic Studies Academic Advisor
Native American Studies Liaison
10. Dr. Stephen M. Buhler
Aaron Douglas Professor of English
11. Dr. Patrick D. Jones
Associate Professor, Department of History and Institute for Ethnic Studies
Recipient of 2015 James A. Lake Academic Freedom Award
12. Prof. Mo Neal
Associate Professor Emerita
Department of Art and Art History
13. Grace Bauer
Professor, Department of English
14. Dr. John R. Bender
Professor of News-Editorial
College of Journalism and Mass Communications
15. Jeffrey L. Day, AIA
Professor of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
Director of the Architecture Program 2012-2017
16. Dr. Melissa J. Homestead
Professor of English
Program Faculty in Women’s & Gender Studies
17. Dr. Frances W. Kaye
Professor, Department of English
18. Dr. John Janovy, Jr.
Professor Emeritus, Biological Sciences
19. Dr. L. Janelle Dance
Associate Professor of Sociology and Ethnic Studies
Associate Director of the Institute for Ethnic Studies
20. Dr. Gerard S. Harbison
Professor of Chemistry
Former Chair of Academic Planning Committee
21. Dr. Jeannette Eileen Jones
Associate Professor of History and Ethnic Studies
22. Dr. Emily Kazyak
Associate Professor of Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies
23. Dr. Andrea Bolland
Associate Professor, School of Art, Art History & Design
24. Dr. David Moshman
Professor Emeritus of Educational Psychology
1997 recipient of James A. Lake Academic Freedom Award
25. Dr. Barbara DiBernard
Emerita, Professor of English and Women’s & Gender Studies
26. Dr. George E. Wolf
Associate Professor Emeritus, Department of English
Recipient of 2002 James A. Lake Academic Freedom Award
27. Dr. Jennifer McKitrick
Professor and Department Chair, Department of Philosophy
28. Dr. Stacey Waite
Associate Professor of English and Director of Composition
29. Dr. Amelia M.L. Montes
Associate Professor, Department of English and Institute for Ethnic Studies
2017/2018 Fulbright Scholar
30. Dr. Kelly Stage
Associate Professor of English
Director of Medieval and Renaissance Studies
31. Dr. Craig J. Eckhardt
Professor Emeritus of Chemistry
32. Gregory E. Rutledge, Ph.D., J.D./M.A.M.C.
Associate Professor, Dept. of English and Institute for Ethnic Studies
33. Dr. Sitaram Jaswal
Professor Emeritus, Department of Physics & Astronomy
34. Dr. Khalid Sayood
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
35. Dr. Bob Haller
Emeritus Professor of English
Four-time UNL AAUP President
Founding President of the Academic Freedom Coalition of Nebraska
36. Dr. Edmund T. Hamann
Professor, Dept. of Teaching, Learning, & Teacher Education
37. Dr. Miles Bryant
Emeritus Professor of Educational Administration
38. Dr. Jack Vespa
Assistant Professor of Practice, Department of English
39. Dr. Paul Olson
Kate Foster Prof. of English emeritus, Department of English
40. Dr. Stephen Hilliard
Professor Emeritus, Department of English
41. Dr. Joy S. Ritchie
Emerita Professor of English and Women’s and Gender Studies
42. Dr. Alice Kang
Associate Professor of Political Science and Ethnic Studies
43. Dr. Alison G. Stewart
Hixson-Lied Professor of Art History
School of Art, Art History & Design
44. Dr. Guy Trainin
Professor of Education, Department of Teaching, Learning, & Teacher Education
45. Dr. Linda Ray Pratt
Professor Emeritus of English
National President, AAUP 1992-94
1994 recipient of James A. Lake Academic Freedom Award
46. Elizabeth Ingraham
Associate Professor, School of Art, Art History, and Design
47. Dr. Thomas M. Carr, Jr.
Professor Emeritus of Modern Languages
48. Dr. Laurie Thomas Lee
Professor, Broadcasting
College of Journalism and Mass Communications
2013 recipient of James A. Lake Academic Freedom Award
49. Dr. Vicki Schlegel
Associate Professor
Department of Food Science and Technology
50. Dr. Michael W. Hoffman
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Former Chair of Academic Planning Committee
51. Dana Fritz
Professor, School of Art, Art History & Design
52. Dr. Sidnie White Crawford
Willa Cather Professor of Classics and Religious Studies
53. Dr. Mike Lippman
Associate Professor of the Practice
Dept. of Classics and Religious Studies
54. Kathleen A. Johnson
Professor of Libraries
55. Sandra Williams
Associate Professor
School of Art, Art History and Design
56. Dr. Bedross Der Matossian
Associate Professor of History
57. Dr. Dave Billesbach
Dept. of Biological Systems Engineering and School of Natural Resources
Fellow, Center for Great Plains Studies
58. Dr. Adrian S. Wisnicki
Associate Professor, Department of English
Faculty Fellow, Center for Digital Research in the Humanities
59. Dr. Peter Dowben
Charles Bessey Professor of Physics
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Center for NanoFerroic Devices
60. Dr. Erica DeFrain
Assistant Professor, University Libraries
61. Dr. John Bailey
Richard H. Larson Distinguished College Professor of Music
62. Dr. Gerard Adams
Associate Professor of Practice, Plant Pathology
63. Dr. Helen Moore
Emerita Professor, Department of Sociology
Past Aaron Douglas Professor of Teaching Excellence
64. Dr. David M. Harwood
Professor, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
65. Dr. Edward F. Becker
Professor of Philosophy
66. Dr. Joy Castro
Professor of English & Ethnic Studies
67. Dr. Catherine Chia
Associate Professor, School of Biological Sciences
68. Dr. Robert F. Diffendal, Jr.
Professor Emeritus, University of Nebraska
Past President, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Faculty Senate
Past President, Nebraska State Conference of the American Association of University Professors
69. Dr. Robert Brooke
John E. Weaver Professor of English
70. Dr. Charles J. Ansorge
Professor Emeritus of Educational Psychology
71. Dr. Drew Tyre
Professor, School of Natural Resources
72. Dr. Lisa A. Kort-Butler
Associate Professor of Sociology
73. Dr. Matt Fritz
Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology
74. Dr. Kwakiutl L. Dreher
Associate Professor
English and Ethnic Studies
75. Dr. Duane F. Shell
Research Professor of Educational Psychology
76. Dr. Virginia Chaidez
Assistant Professor
Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences
77. Dr. Rachel Azima
Assistant Professor of Practice, Department of English
Director, UNL Writing Center
78. Dr. Deana Liddy, Professor Emeritus
Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Past President, Nebraska State Conference of the American Association of University Professors
79. Dr. Anthony J. Zera
Kate Foster Professor
School of Biological Sciences
80. Dr. Eileen Hebets
Professor, School of Biological Sciences
81. Dr. Jay Storz
Susan J. Rosowski University Professor
School of Biological Sciences
82. Dr. Richard K. Sutton
Professor, Agronomy and Horticulture and the Program in Landscape Architecture
83. Dr. Rosemary Strasser
University of Nebraska Omaha
Area Coordinator for Neuroscience & Behavior
84. Dr. Roni Reiter-Palmon
Varner Professor of Industrial/Organizational Psychology
University of Nebraska Omaha
85. Karsten Koehler
Assistant Professor
Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences
86. Dr. Sarah L. Thomas
Assistant Professor of Practice
Secondary English Education
Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education
87. Dr. Roy Koepp
Assistant Professor of Modern German and European History
University of Nebraska at Kearney
88. Sue Ann Gardner
Professor, University Libraries
89. Dr. Scott L. Gardner
Professor, School of Biological Sciences
90. David A Woodman
Professor of Practice, School of Biological Sciences
Past President, UNL Faculty Senate
91. Dr. Simon Wood
Department of Classics and Religious Studies
92. Dr. Glenn Tracy, Ed. D.
Associate Professor, College of Education
University of Nebraska at Kearney
93. Dr. Adam Houston
Associate Professor
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
94. Prof. Alisa Belflower
Coordinator of Musical Theatre Studies
Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts
95. Dr. William Aviles
Professor, Department of Political Science
University of Nebraska at Kearney
96. Dan May
Professor of Art
Art and Design Department
Visual Communications Design
University of Nebraska-Kearney
97. Dr. Elliot A. Tebbe
Assistant Professor, Counseling Psychology
Department of Educational Psychology
98. Anthony Hawley
Lecturer
School of Art, Art History and Design
99. Dr. Tom Winter
Retired Associate Professor, Classics and Religious Studies
100. Dr. Joseph Mendola
Professor of Philosophy
101. Sarah Effken Purcell
President, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Faculty Senate
Nebraska Extension Educator
102. Dr. Jay A. Irwin
Associate Professor of Sociology/UNO
Past President UNO AAUP
103. Dr. Kevin Hanrahan
Associate Professor of Voice & Vocal Pedagogy
Glenn Korff School of Music
104. Lisa Sandlin
Writer’s Workshop, University of Nebraska Omaha
105. Dr. Heather Hallen-Adams
Assistant Professor of Practice
Food Science and Technology
106. Dr. Tricia Gray, Lecturer
Teacher, Learning, and Teacher Education
107. Dr. Etsuko Moriyama
Professor, School of Biological Sciences & Center for Plant Science Innovation
108. Dr. Carolyn Barber, DM
Ron & Carol Cope Professor of Music, Director of Bands
Glenn Korff School of Music
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
109. Dr. Hendrik Van den Berg
Professor Emeritus, Department of Economics
110. Dr. Kenneth M. Price
Hillegass University Professor of American Literature
Co-Director of the Walt Whitman Archive
Co-Director of the Center for Digital Research in Humanities
111. Scott Anderson, D.M.A.
Hixson-Lied Professor of Trombone
Glenn Korff School of Music
112. Dr. William Wagner
Professor, School of Biological Sciences
113. Dr. Mark Walker
Willa Cather Professor of Mathematics
114. Dr. Richard E Goodman, PhD FAAAAI
Research Professor
Food Allergy Research and Resource Program
Dept. of Food Science & Technology
115. Dr. Brigitte Tenhumberg
Professor, School of Biological Sciences
and Department of Mathematics
116. Dr. Mark Wilson
Associate Professor
Department of Biochemistry
117. Kay Logan-Peters
Professor, University Libraries
118. Dr. John Gruhl
Professor of Political Science
119. Dr. Hans Sturm
Professor, Glenn Korff School of Music
120. Dr. Sathish Kumar Natarajan
Assistant Professor
Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences
121. Dr. Pamela F. Starr
Professor of Music History
Glenn Korff School of Music
122. Dr. Luwen Zhang
Professor of Biological Sciences
Nebraska Center for Virology
123. Dr. Guy Reynolds
Professor of English
Director of the Cather Project
124. Dr. Tim Arkebauer
Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture
School of Natural Resources
125. Dr. Charles Francis
Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture
126. Dr. Zoya Avramova
Professor of Biology, School of Biological Sciences
127. Dr. Rhae A. Drijber
Professor, Soil Microbial Ecology
Department of Agronomy & Horticulture
128. Dr. Sylvia Wiegand
Professor Emerita
Department of Mathematics
129. Dr. Dawne Y. Curry
Associate Professor of History and Ethnic Studies
2017-2018 Fulbright Scholar
130. Dr. Mark Griep
Associate Professor of Chemistry
131. Dr. John Meakin
Milton Mohr Professor Emeritus
Department of Mathematics
132. Dr. Matt Cohen
Associate Professor of English
133. Dr. Luchezar Avramov
Professor and Dale M. Jensen Chair of Mathematics
134. Dr. Glenn Ledder
Professor of Mathematics
Associate Professor
School of Biological Sciences
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By the deadline, the letter had garnered 315 signatures from 88 departments and programs across all three branches of the Nebraska University system.