I promised my students and colleagues that I would heed their concerns and make sure that people in positions of power would not violate their power, he said. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 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. As the fallout continues over Linfield Universitys summary termination of a tenured professor with no process whatsoever the Chronicle of Higher Educations new story on the controversy is a must-read. And the Anti-Defamation Leagues Pacific Northwest office urged Dr. Davis to consider stepping down. 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. With Linfield . The professor said he tried notifying his bosses about sexual harassment. Here, you'll find full details on how to place either request. The small private university has weathered controversy recently, with the high-profile departure of a faculty member who drew attention to accusations of sexual harassment by school leaders. The university, which has about 1,900 students and 139 faculty members, maintains an affiliation with the American Baptist Churches U.S.A. Dr. Pollack-Pelzner lost his post a month after he had outlined multiple accusations of anti-Semitism and sexual misconduct by university leaders in a statement on Twitter. This is what systemic and institutionalized racism looks like in Oregon., The N.A.A.C.P. No competent university leader could credibly believe that tenured faculty are at-will employees. A petition protesting the firing has now been signed by hundreds of other faculty members across the country and around the world. Linfield Universitys actions are a crystal-clear violation of its own policy on firing a tenured professor for cause. The dismissal of a tenured faculty member for cause, the handbook says, must relate to the fitness of faculty members in their professional capacities as teachers or researchers, not to their generation of bad publicity for the college. 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. Dr. Bull served in numerous capacities and was a leader in opening new career paths for women in the corporate and educational fields. 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, including about Jewish noses as well as the Holocaust. Photo by Daniel Hurst, courtesy of Linfield College LC-LC-. If a person walks up and punches a student in the face, youre telling me I need to go convene a group of people before I take any action against them?. At Linfield, the report says, deeply-held resistance to Black leadership and culture fueled the ferocity of resistance to organization change. The report also said that Davis had not had time to build a rapport with the faculty and staff at Linfield because he needed to make changes quickly. The only major offered is Nursing. Some have called for the universitys president to resign. How to request transcripts Contact us For more information on how to get involved with Linfield, please don't hesitate to reach out. Agre-Kippenhan, Linfields Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, does Davis no favors in playing second fiddle. Jewish and Arab noses, he explained, are actually around the same size. In another account, a faculty member accused Linfield President Davis of misconduct. Faculty members within Linfield's College of Arts and Sciences Monday passed a resolution signifying no confidence in the university president and board chair, calling for their resignations. 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. Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. 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. How Oregon researchers are testing 3D printing to reconstruct bone. He has denied the students allegations, Baca wrote. But in an interview with The Chronicle, Davis confirmed that he had indeed made the comment about Jewish and Arab noses, which he said had been informed by the time hed spent in the Middle East. FIRE files an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to uphold the First Amendment rights of a dog-toy maker to parody a famous whiskey brand and to adopt a test that protects free expression against overzealous trademark owners, including colleges and universities. 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. Student Life Faces of Research: Meet Aaron Stebner - February 13, 2023. 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.. Lorraine Hansberrys second play had a white Jewish protagonist. Tenure is not at-will employment and the university promises procedural protections to its faculty. He said he would leave if my departure would benefit the university.. 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. Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212. He said that his firing sent the message that if you use your voice to speak up against sexual misconduct, then you will lose your voice.. Most important, you should know that Professor Pollack-Pelzner has been engaged in a smear campaign toward me and the administration at Linfield University, Davis wrote. Based on that investigation, the NAACP criticized the ADL and Oregon Board of Rabbis for calling on Davis to resign. 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. Davis denied making this comment before he admitted making it. Discover who you're meant to be. 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. The Oregon Board of Rabbis called on Dr. Davis and Mr. Baca to resign. (Courtesy of Linfield University). The people who have been accused deny that these things were ever said, Linfield spokesperson Scott Nelson said in a statement. Agre-Kippenhans theory that Linfield can do an end-run around faculty members due process protections by simply firing them as employees is almost clever. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Dr. Pollack-Pelzner, Dr. Linder, Dr. Tompkins, Dr. Friedman and two other professors who had received requests to speak to the group responded in an email that investigating employees who have reported harassment and retaliation, no matter how well-intentioned the investigation is itself an act of retaliation., 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 in a letter to the Linfield community last July, I believe that you are safe, that there is justice and that the trustees are protecting you.. ( 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. In a long March 29 Twitter thread, Pollack-Pelzner claimed that Board Chair David Baca told him that the Board never had a problem until [Pollack-Pelzner] became a trustee. He says that Linfields President, Miles K. Davis, told him that he was putting Linfield at risk by reporting claims of sexual misconduct, threatened [Pollack-Pelzner] with personal liability, and claimed that people like [Pollack-Pelzner] were destroying [Linfield] from within and could only show loyalty by accepting the teachings of Jesus Christ. Pollack-Pelzner is Jewish. Why didnt his obituaries say so? Carmody has been on the board since 2008. OPBs critical reporting and inspiring programs are made possible by the power of member support. Theres a reaction to change, he said. 8011 Linfield Way, Atlanta, GA is a townhome home that contains 2,413 sq ft and was built in 2020. These are real issues that Linfield has to deal with, and I understand the impulse to blame the messenger and claim that the harm is in the act of reporting rather than whats being reported, but Im hopeful that if we continue to shed a light on these abuses of power that that will allow us eventually to be able to rebuild and heal, Pollack-Pelzner said. You will receive a link to create a new password via email. In a statement, the university said Dr. Pollack-Pelzner had been fired for cause., He has engaged in conduct that is harmful to the university; deliberately violated instructions to preserve the attorney-client privilege, and deliberately circulated false statements about the university, its employees and its board and refused to comply with university policies, the statement said. Baca has been on the board for13 years. 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.. 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. 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. 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.. 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. FIREs 2022 College Free Speech Rankings are based on the voices of more than 44,000 currently enrolled students at 208 colleges and are designed to help parents and prospective students choose the right school. Pollack-Pelzner tweeted that after he passed on misconduct reports, he faced comments related to his religion from the head of the human resources department and the board chair, and he had also heard President Davis talk about measuring the size of Jewish noses. In addition, Pollack-Pelzner said that Davis told him people were overreacting to swastikas that had appeared on campus. 8025 Linfield Way #1, Atlanta GA, is a Townhouse home that contains 2509 sq ft and was built in 2020.It contains 3 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. This shouldnt be hard to understand. 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). He said that he had reported that four trustees had been accused of sexual misconduct by students and faculty over the past year and suggested that there be sexual harassment training and guidelines. Richard Belzer was a Jewish comedian. That is exactly what FIRE is telling Davis and the institution he currently leads. The president said he was unaware of the guidelines, hadnt seen the most recent version of the faculty handbook, didnt know who had updated it, and didnt believe it had been approved by the administration. Linfield University. Additionally, the ADL encouraged Linfield leadership to attend trainings on bias and antisemitism. 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). (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. Colleen Flaherty April 19, 2021 (Daniel Pollack-Pelzner/Twitter) 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. One faculty trustee also accused board members of anti-Semitism, and the arts and sciences faculty voted overwhelmingly that it has no confidence in President Miles Davis or David Baca, board chair. Davis stated that none of the allegations in Pollack-Pelzners tweets are recent and that they were all initially raised nearly a year ago. The university respects that individuals are free to express their opinions on social media, but that doesnt make them accurate, Nelson said. WiMSE Partners to Help Invisible Homeless - January 26, 2023. One of those trustees resigned in 2019 and has been charged with sexual abuse. Baca said he met at length with Motis when she raised her complaint in 2019 and he banned Jubb from attending the next board meeting while he began a process to remove him as trustee. Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan are reviving it. 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.). Last week Linfield professor and faculty trustee Daniel Pollack-Pelzner tweeted that he faced antisemitic comments after he reported that multiple members of the universitys Board of Trustees had been accused of sexual misconduct by students and faculty over the past year. Linfield has pushed back on this criticism, saying it investigated the most recent complaints in question and no university policies were found to have been violated. Philadelphia, PA 19106. You will complete approximately one-third of your courses in the core. 2023 jewish telegraphic agency all rights reserved. As FIRE detailed yesterday, Linfield University's senior leadership abruptly terminated Daniel Pollack-Pelzner after he criticized the university's handling of sexual assault and harassment allegations against board members, and alleged that Linfield president Miles K. Davis had made a remark about "Jewish noses." Multiple organizations, including the Oregon Board of Rabbis, called for both Baca and university president Miles Davis to resign. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. 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