The justifications offered by Linfields leadership to the Chronicle are incoherent. gave support to his account of racial bias, releasing a report that praised Dr. Daviss leadership and said he had been subjected to unfair personal attacks because of his race. By submitting the above I agree to the privacy policy and terms of use of JTA.org. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 510 Walnut St. | Suite 1250 Linfield President Davis responded Friday to the ADLs letter. By submitting the above I agree to the privacy policy and terms of use of JTA.org. Pollack-Pelzner said he doesnt know what his next steps will be, and that he isnt sure how he could persuade the administration to follow the guidelines in the handbook. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which aims to defend student and faculty freedom of speech on campus, sent a letter to Davis on Thursday night demanding that he reverse Pollack-Pelzners termination, condemning what it called reckless conduct., The Shakespeare Association of America also backed Pollack-Pelzner, who teaches about Shakespeare, writing,Whistleblowers should not be punished and anti-semitism and other forms of racism should be condemned., A 2018 photo of the Linfield University campus in McMinnville, Ore. (George Rose/Getty Images). It said that he had been called divisive, intimidating, combative, aggressive, disrespectful and abusive, which the report called coded racist language. Dr. Pollack-Pelzner, who was hired by the university in 2010 and has written about theater and the arts as a contributor for The New York Times, said he had been fired without a hearing or any of the other due process protections normally granted to tenured faculty members. Richard Belzer was a Jewish comedian. Dr. Friedman said she had also reported that another trustee, Norman Nixon, a former member of the Los Angeles Lakers, touched her thigh during a university dinner and asked if there was a Mr. Elan Ganeles, American killed in West Bank attack, remembered for his wit and friendship, As Orthodox Union and other Jewish groups condemn settler rampage, many avoid mentioning Benjamin Netanyahu, Planned Day of Hate against Jews passes by with packed synagogues and no violence, Red Sox exec Chaim Bloom says hes received antisemitism over teams woes, Jewish comedian Modi Rosenfeld says he still has plenty of Orthodox fans after opening up about being gay, ESPNs Jeff Passan opens up on his Hebrew school upbringing, interviewing Sandy Koufax and Jewish baseball history. [11] Davis also noted that two of the trustees who were accused of sexual misconduct are African-American. Durch Klicken auf Alle akzeptieren erklren Sie sich damit einverstanden, dass Yahoo und unsere Partner Ihre personenbezogenen Daten verarbeiten und Technologien wie Cookies nutzen, um personalisierte Anzeigen und Inhalte zu zeigen, zur Messung von Anzeigen und Inhalten, um mehr ber die Zielgruppe zu erfahren sowie fr die Entwicklung von Produkten. Obviously, a university need not convene a unanimous jury before stopping ongoing physical violence. Why didnt his obituaries say so? In a related case, Linfield faces a whistle-blower lawsuit from a former professor, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, who says he was fired for standing up to the board about sexual misconduct and discrimination. Israeli Orthodox Jew raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for victims of settler riot, Wikipedias Supreme Court tackles alleged conspiracy to distort articles on Holocaust, This Purim, a space for queer Jews to celebrate their identities and dance the night away, Avi Maoz, Israeli politician and proud homophobe, resigns from deputy minister role, As Israel reels from violent attack on Palestinians, settler leadership remains unapologetic. FIREs award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed. But rarely have the three collided at the highest levels of leadership, as they have at Linfield University, a small, historically Baptist college in Oregons wine country, which celebrated the appointment of its first Black president in 2018. 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Higher Ed Leaders Propose Gun Violence Solutions, NYC Comptroller Urges Yeshiva U to Recognize LGBTQ Group, Ore. Lawmaker Seeks Sexual Misconduct Survey for All Colleges, New Report on the Resilience of Puerto Rican Universities. The American Association of University professors has joined the effort, assailing the reckless and dangerous termination as a clear violation of the core principles of academic freedom and tenure.. No competent university leader could credibly believe that tenured faculty are at-will employees. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Check out our library of resources to get started on your First Amendment journey! Anyone can read what you share. The refusal to take this action, and the defiant tone within these messages about the possibility of even considering such a step, perpetuates an image of Linfield as an organization that is not adequately addressing sexual misconduct allegations, Miller wrote. The university faces growing calls for the resignation of that president, Miles K. Davis, and the chairman of its board of trustees amid accusations that they made offensive comments about Jews and that Dr. Davis and three other board members had engaged in various forms of misconduct with female professors and students. 8011 Linfield Way, Atlanta, GA is a townhome home that contains 2,413 sq ft and was built in 2020. There is a jury trial scheduled for that case in November. But my fellow trustees, who are very familiar with the events, have urged me to remain as Chairman. Dr. Pollack-Pelzner said he had taken the letter as a personal attack, adding that he had been ordered not to talk about sexual misconduct outside of executive session and had then been banned from attending the sessions and finally fired after speaking out on Twitter. Resources for faculty and staff from our partners at Times Higher Education. This is purportedly an example as Linfield said in response to media inquiries of the conduct that is harmful to the university that necessitated Pollack-Pelzners immediate termination, but its not clear what the universitys interest is at all. While we have strong disagreements with much of the media (and social media) speculation, we do not believe further argument in the press are an appropriate avenue for community healing.. If Davis believes that Linfield can prove that Pollack-Pelzner violated university policy, he should submit that question to an unbiased faculty committee, as due process requires. Linfield University locations: McMinnville Campus 900 SE Baker Street McMinnville, Oregon 97128 503-883-2200. About a month after his widely shared Twitter thread, Pollack-Pelzner was let go so abruptly that he learned of it only when he was locked out of Linfields email system. Pollack-Pelzner, an English literature professor who had tenure, was fired Tuesday after he and others publicly accused Linfield President Miles K. Davis of making multiple antisemitic comments,. said Dr. Davis had contacted it last month with concerns about racial bias. Davis told the Chronicle of Higher Education that the schools faculty handbook had not been updated and said a number of things in that handbook that are not valid. He added that Our legal representation feels very comfortable with the basis for his termination.. (JTA) Criticism is mounting over the firing of a Jewish professor who accused his Oregon universitys leadership of making antisemitic comments, with the local branch of the Anti-Defamation League joining calls for the president of the school to resign. He said he would leave if my departure would benefit the university.. Dr. Tompkins remembered slightly different wording. It has even pitted the N.A.A.C.P., which has cited racial bias in the accusations against Dr. Davis, against the Anti-Defamation League, which has joined in calls for Dr. Daviss resignation. Its hard to see the universitys interest in protecting the reputation of a former trustee, much less one who resigned (for health reasons, the university said) after allegedly sexually assaulting a student. Photo by Daniel Hurst, courtesy of Linfield College LC-LC-. Klicken Sie auf Einstellungen verwalten um weitere Informationen zu erhalten und Ihre Einstellungen zu verwalten. Linfield University canceled faculty Listservs over the weekend, sparking faculty cries of censorship. Earlier this week, Linfield University fired a tenured professor who had spoken out about allegations of sexual misconduct, as well as antisemitism, against university leaders. But the committee disclosed that a faculty member in February accused one trustee of inappropriate touching of the shoulder and another trustee of inappropriate touching of the leg. The committee didnt name the trustees and said an outside investigator is looking into the complaint. Several professors have of late used mass emails or publicly criticized the university for what they describe as Linfields poor handling of several sexual misconduct complaints involving members of the Board of Trustees. When asked whether the faculty-handbook procedures had been followed in Pollack-Pelzners firing, Davis said that the handbook had not been updated and that there are a number of things in that handbook that are not valid. The handbook says Fall 2020" on its title page, and the most recent update was in January of this year. The university exists as a powerful reminder that threats to academic freedom often come not from ideologues but from administrators who fear criticism and have no business running a university. Friedman.. Discover who you're meant to be. In his first detailed statement on the complaints, Baca wrote that he regretted, that we did not strictly enforce an order that Mr. Jubb refrain from fraternizing with students during the evening when the second incident allegedly took place., He said he realized too late that a mistake had been made in allowing Mr. Jubb to attend the bar gathering after the faculty/trustee dinner. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. When he sent an email to himself as a test, he received, as the Chronicle of Higher Education reports, an auto-reply, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner is no longer an employee of Linfield University. A Linfield University spokesperson explains that Pollack-Pelzner was let go for circulating unspecified false statements, for an equally unspecified failure to comply with university policies, and generally being insubordinate.. (JTA) In the latest developments in an ongoing controversy at Linfield University over the firing of a tenured Jewish professor who accused the school of anti-Semitism, a report from the. Davis invited the NAACP to investigate whether he was subject to racist treatment after he was accused both of antisemitism as well as sexual assault. Baca was with the group at the bar. David Baca, the embattled chair of Linfield Universitys board of trustees, said he offered to resign after a faculty vote of no confidence in late May over his handling of sexual abuse allegations against another trustee, but other trustees convinced him to stay on. In an interview on Thursday, Dr. Davis said that while he doesnt recall the comments he made that day, he doesnt use the phrase anymore and added, Im sorry if I said something that offended them at that time.. Elan Ganeles, American killed in West Bank attack, remembered for his wit and friendship, As Orthodox Union and other Jewish groups condemn settler rampage, many avoid mentioning Benjamin Netanyahu, Planned Day of Hate against Jews passes by with packed synagogues and no violence, Red Sox exec Chaim Bloom says hes received antisemitism over teams woes, Jewish comedian Modi Rosenfeld says he still has plenty of Orthodox fans after opening up about being gay, ESPNs Jeff Passan opens up on his Hebrew school upbringing, interviewing Sandy Koufax and Jewish baseball history. Faces of Research: Meet Aaron Stebner - February 13, 2023. Dies geschieht in Ihren Datenschutzeinstellungen. Its just devastating, Dr. Pollack-Pelzner said, adding that he had spoken publicly in his capacity as a faculty trustee who had received complaints from students and colleagues. Miri Cypers, the groups regional director, said that while the A.D.L. Davis said he didnt remember Pollack-Pelzners mentioning he was Jewish. Due mostly to Davis denials, an independent investigation could not substantiate the allegations. No one else on the 33-member Linfield board faces an abuse complaint by a student, the boards executive committee said in a statement, also released last week. (JTA) In the latest developments in an ongoing controversy at Linfield University over the firing of a tenured Jewish professor who accused the school of antisemitism, a report from the local branch of the NAACP found that the Oregon schools president was subjected to racism at the school. It could hardly be clearer. Although he is stepping down as chair, Baca will still serve on the board. And as for whether this handbook had been approved by Linfields administration? The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found itself at the center of a national controversy in May, when news broke that the UNC board of trustees diverted from the normal tenure process and declined to consider tenure for Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, despite a faculty recommendation that she be hired with tenure. I dont know how anybody could feel safe in this environment., Linfield University Fires Professor Who Spoke Out About Misconduct Cases, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/01/us/Linfield-university-professor-fired.html. Where small class sizes translate to big opportunities. Police, security agencies advise Jews to be on alert ahead of planned National Day of Hate on Shabbat, American citizen killed in latest West Bank shooting amid escalating violence, This Orthodox Jewish model made history at New York Fashion Week. He has denied the students allegations, Baca wrote. In response, he said, Mr. Baca, the board chairman, accused me a Jewish trustee of harboring a secret agenda to grab power.. There will be a trial and the facts will be determined by a jury. If this is what Linfield wants its faculty standards to look like, one would not need to look far to see how it will be abused.). With its 52-23 win over Pacific University (Ore.) on Saturday, the Linfield Wildcats moved to 5-0 on the season and guaranteed themselves a 65th consecutive winning season. According to The Oregonian, the university has hosed down sidewalk-chalk messages supporting Pelzner, threatening the students who wrote them with fines, and has torn down flyers criticizing his termination. As for whether he faces eight felony charges or one felony charge and seven misdemeanors, the remark is substantially true: He does, in fact, face eight criminal charges. 4d. The FIRE Legal Network is a nationwide group of attorneys to whom we refer cases when counsel is necessary and the matter at issue falls outside the scope of FIREs mission or ability to assist. Pollack-Pelzner whose case has become a cause celebre among American academics did not agree to speak with the NAACP for its investigation, and the report does not substantively address his termination or his allegations, relying instead on the independent investigation that could not substantiate them. The Rent Zestimate for this home is $3,499/mo, which has decreased by $500/mo in the last 30 days. Across the country, colleges and universities have been wrestling with allegations of sexual misconduct, racial discrimination and anti-Semitism. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). 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