linfield university controversy

According to the summary of the independent investigation of that report, which was provided to OPB, Davis had approached the faculty member from behind, and rubbed his hands up and down the professors arms while saying he looked forward to a scheduled meeting. 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. Pioneer Hall is the oldest building on the Linfield campus, constructed in 1881. Why didnt his obituaries say so? Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The president said that it had nothing to do with his fitness as a teacher or a researcher (though thats the standard, according to the faculty handbook). On Thursday, Pollack-Pelzner told JTA that he learned he was fired only when he discovered he was locked out of his work email. The boards vice-chair, Kerry Carmody, will become interim chair on Oct. 1. How Oregon researchers are testing 3D printing to reconstruct bone. His termination, the letter says, threatens to set a precedent that will eviscerate the foundational principles of both free speech and of faculty governance on university campuses., Miles K. Davis, Linfield University's president, denies saying anything antisemitic. The Save Our Linfield nonprofit has raised more than $10,000 for a legal defense fund for . Richard Belzer was a Jewish comedian. Linfields faculty handbook requires a lengthy process, including two formal hearings, before a professor with tenure can be fired procedures that have not been followed in this case. Reginald Richardson, the president of the local NAACP chapter, told JTA that he trusted the independent investigation of the antisemitism claims, and that Pollack-Pelzners firing was outside the scope of the NAACP report. 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.. The State College of Florida Bradenton requested a traveling art exhibition to remove pieces with the words diversity, inclusion, justice, and equality. Davis also noted that two of the trustees who were accused of sexual misconduct are African-American. 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. 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. Pollack-Pelzners tweets stated that he was censored by the board in meetings. The Linfield Curriculum The core general-education courses teach critical thinking and communication skills and provide a rich, broad experience. David Baca, longtime chair of Linfield University's Board of Trustees, said this week that he's stepping down. A lawyer hired by the university substantiated Dr. Friedmans claim that Dr. Davis had put his hands on her arms but found that the conduct had not violated Linfields anti-harassment and sexual harassment policy. Pollack-Pelzners interpretation of what Davis meant is a matter of opinion, not fact, and remains protected speech. Linfield has extensive and robust programs to educate and train students, faculty and staff on matters of discrimination, sexual harassment and misconduct, and intolerance, Davis wrote. He said he would leave if my departure would benefit the university.. 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. Its retaliatory in the extreme.. Dr. Davis said that an investigation had reached the same conclusion about the accusations against Mr. Nixon, who could not be reached. Research Reveals Thermal Instability of Solar Cells but Offers a Bright Path Forward - February 14, 2023. Davis, meanwhile, appears astounded at the very notion of due process: As for whether there should have been a period during which Pollack-Pelzner would have had a chance to respond to the charges against him, Davis replied with an analogy. Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212. Linfield University locations: McMinnville Campus 900 SE Baker Street McMinnville, Oregon 97128 503-883-2200. And because of the incompetent despotism of some of its leaders, Linfield is now a national story. I think its incredulous that so many hurtful and disturbing and inappropriate comments have been made, Miri Cypers, the ADLs Pacific Northwest regional director, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Discover who you're meant to be. Miles K. Davis, president of Linfield University, a long-ingrained American response to look away, The fallout across industries has been swift. Tenure is not at-will employment and the university promises procedural protections to its faculty. If the NAACP would like to talk with me I would be happy to speak, he said, but he noted that the group had not responded to a list of questions he and several other professors had sent them about the investigation. How to request transcripts Contact us For more information on how to get involved with Linfield, please don't hesitate to reach out. Now people. As the controversy has dragged on, Mr. Baca, the board chairman, has tried to reassure students and others on campus who have protested the handling of the sexual misconduct accusations, writing. 2023 jewish telegraphic agency all rights reserved. Check out our library of resources to get started on your First Amendment journey! Students and alumni have condemned the firing, and more than 1,000 professors from the United States, Canada and other countries have signed a letter saying the universitys action could eviscerate the foundational principles of both free speech and of faculty governance on university campuses., They have fired the whistle-blower, said Jamie Friedman, an associate professor of English, who had accused Dr. Davis and another trustee of touching her inappropriately at university events. Explore the scintillating March 2023 issue of Commentary. Where small class sizes translate to big opportunities. It is a small institution with an enrollment of 340 undergraduate students. On Thursday, he recalled discussing the physical characteristics of Jews and Arabs and making the point that this portrayal of Shylock with the hook nose is just ludicrous.. It becomes an echo chamber that I have to spend my time defending, as opposed to looking at the scope of my lifes work, he said. Perhaps Davis shifted to the remark about the trustee because he conceded to the Chronicle that he had, in fact, made the remark about Jewish noses that Pollack-Pelzner had alleged: A campus investigation last August into the nose comment, along with other matters, called it a he said, he said situation and stated that Davis had denied saying it. The Rent Zestimate for this home is $3,499/mo, which has decreased by $500/mo in the last 30 days. Condemnation from parents, alumni and a national educational organization followed almost immediately after Linfield University fired tenured English professor Daniel Pollack-Pelzner in a rare. In fact, there is one felony charge against Jubb, along with seven counts of third-degree sexual abuse, which is a misdemeanor in Oregon. The snitcheror whistleblowerin this case is Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, who was until recently a tenured Shakespeare scholar and a voting faculty member on Linfields Board of Trustees. 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. In February 2019 after a faculty-trustee dinner, Jubb is accused of sexually abusing student-trustee AnnaMarie Motis as the two waited for a ride in the lobby of Michelbook Country Club and then at a McMinnville bar where trustees had gone for after-dinner drinks. Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. Dr. Tompkins remembered slightly different wording. Do these folks really think theyre going to win a social media war against Generation Z?, Trey PetersonWood, a recent Linfield graduate, said Monday that the more Linfield attempts to censor and silence advocates for accountability, the more damage they are causing to this great institution that has the potential to be a leader in the age of what oppressors call cancel culture, but in reality, its the age of accountability.. Mr. Jubb has pleaded not guilty and his case is scheduled for trial in November, his lawyer said. In another account, a faculty member accused Linfield President Davis of misconduct. 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. No competent university leader could credibly believe that tenured faculty are at-will employees. They have recklessly exposed the university to a lawsuit. With their support, I will continue to lead the Board to the best of my ability and serve the university I love, he wrote in a statement the university released last week. On Friday, the local branch of the N.A.A.C.P. Richard Belzer was a Jewish comedian. As Linfield adapts to meet the needs of a new generation of students and the demands of a quickly evolving world of higher education, the Board also has to adapt and change. The ADL, the report says, failed to conduct any independent investigation, preferring to simply believe the complaint despite the fact the University had already conducted an independent review. "After 13 years on the Board and four years as chair, Dave decided it was in Linfield's best interest that he step down and allow new leaders to come to the forefront," Scott Nelson, university spokesman, told The Oregonian. The Chronicle conducted interviews with Linfields dissembling leadership as they frantically grasp for any credible explanation for why they terminated a tenured faculty member with no process a severance so quick that the professor learned of his termination because he got an auto-response from his own email address explaining that Daniel Pollack-Pelzner is no longer an employee of Linfield University.. 13 among all public universities in the United States by Niche, a research company that produces an annual Liked by Kendra (Preugschat) Hill How Biden Intends to Misuse the CHIPS Act, Academic Freedom Is Under Siege by Anti-Israel Politics. 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. After 13 years on the Board and four years as chair, Dave decided it was in Linfields best interest that he step down and allow new leaders to come to the forefront, Scott Nelson, university spokesman, told The Oregonian. Linfield University canceled faculty Listservs over the weekend, sparking faculty cries of censorship. There is a jury trial scheduled for that case in November. As described in a federal lawsuit, Linfield board chair David Baca told trustees in June 2019 that veteran trustee David Jubb was resigning "due to health concerns,'' when he actually was facing sexual abuse allegations. reporting from Linfields student newspaper The Linfield Review. Be a part of it! ", executive assistant to Susan Agre-Kippenhan, Linfield University: Tenured Professor Terminated Without Due Process for Criticizing University, Stanford professors stand up for free speech culture with petition to end bias reporting system, FIRE reminds Supreme Court the First Amendment is top dog, REPORT: Faculty members more likely to self-censor today than during McCarthy era, FIRE, NCAC object after State College of Florida censors art exhibit, Nobody said defending free speech was easy, Penn Law dean asks for major sanction against professor Amy Wax, creating tenure threat for all Penn faculty, AAUP censures Linfield University for blatant academic freedom violations, Fired for criticizing his administration and discussing racism, Indiana professor sues, FIRE, PEN America, condemn new rule forcing some Mississippi universities to consider collegiality in tenure review. We find that President Davis has been subject to numerous instances of unfair treatment since his arrival in July 2018, and this unfair treatment of personal attacks were due to being a Black man, the report says. Both students and faculty members have repeatedly called on Baca to step down over Linfields handling of sexual misconduct reports by students against David Jubb, a former trustee who is facing a criminal trial. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Longtime trustee David Jubb, who left the board in June 2019, is accused of sexually abusing four different students, including a student trustee last year. 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.. Click here! This is simply not how tenure works. Theres a reaction to change, he said. (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. Finally, the President said that people like me were destroying [Linfield] from within and could only show loyalty by accepting the teachings of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, Pollack-Pelzner tweeted. Linfield University announced Tuesday that the chair of its Board of Trustees, David Baca, has stepped down from the leadership post after four years, including a tumultuous last several months at the private college in McMinnville. That concession is damning for Davis and Linfields claim that Pollack-Pelzners allegation is defamatory. Regardless, I asked for and received his resignation from the Board.. 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. In its letter Thursday, Anti-Defamation League Pacific Northwest Regional Director Miri Cypers wrote that the ADL is not representing Pollack-Pelzner as his attorney nor is it in a position to verify his allegations, but that it is troubled by his descriptions of the incidents. It contains 3 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. The NAACP report, published Friday and sent to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, says Davis was treated unfairly due to racism at the school. That failure led to sexual abuse allegations against trustee David Jubb stemming from a 2019 encounter between Jubb and a student-trustee at a bar after a faculty-trustee dinner. She singled out Baca for criticism, saying the schools general counsel told her that Baca gave his word that David Jubb would never have contact with students again or be allowed at events that served alcohol.. ( 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. One of those reports included former board member David Jubb, who was indicted last year on eight counts seven counts of third-degree sexual abuse and one count of first-degree sexual abuse. Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan are reviving it. Kerry Carmody, the boards vice chair, was named interim chair, effective Oct.1. 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.. 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. And where exploring your passions uncovers a lifetime of success. I havent seen any indication that people in positions of power at Linfield want to hold themselves accountable., Other organizations have also come out in Pollack-Pelzners defense. We . Further, the Oregon Board of Rabbis also called for the resignation of President Davis without talking with him or conducting an investigation of any kind.. The vote came after reports in The Oregonian/OregonLive about the 2019. of Jubb, who faces sexual abuse charges involving a student-trustee in 2019 and three students in 2017. That lawsuit is still pending. A group of Stanford faculty are publicly objecting to a campus harm reporting system they say chills campus speech. A petition protesting the firing has now been signed by hundreds of other faculty members across the country and around the world. 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. In interviews this week, Dr. Davis and the board chairman, David Baca, denied any wrongdoing. Fill out the form below to receive personalized communications or close this window to continue. Linfield University announced Tuesday that the chair of its Board of Trustees, David Baca, has stepped down from the leadership post after four years, including a tumultuous last several months. Linfield President Miles Davis said in a responding letter that the professors tweets were part of a smear campaign against university administration. All rights reserved (About Us). The report finds that Linfield's administration violated the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure and the institution's own regulations, which incorporate AAUP . The firing, previously reported by The Oregonian, has added to the extraordinary turmoil at Linfield, which was founded in 1858 as a Baptist college and offers liberal arts, business and nursing programs. He said that as an African-American man, he understands the need for education, training and community engagement on matters of discrimination and intolerance.. He also insisted that the remark was part of an academic discussion and wasnt meant to be offensive. Uncovers a lifetime of success Linfield Curriculum the core general-education courses teach critical and! 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