Dr. Bull served in numerous capacities and was a leader in opening new career paths for women in the corporate and educational fields. Jewish and Arab noses, he explained, are actually around the same size. Related Stories Alumni push for change at Linfield University amid allegations of harassment, misconduct. Photo by Daniel Hurst, courtesy of Linfield College LC-LC-. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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. The university respects that individuals are free to express their opinions on social media, but that doesnt make them accurate, Nelson said. (Linfield students, on the other hand, are subject to the noblesse oblige and whims of Davis: The student handbook has a get-out-of-policy-free card for Davis, granting him the prerogative of total authority to act without consultation with any other person or conduct board to suspend or expel any student that Davis feels is acting contrary and dangerous to the university. Linfield University locations: McMinnville Campus 900 SE Baker Street McMinnville, Oregon 97128 503-883-2200. 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. Pollack-Pelzners interpretation of what Davis meant is a matter of opinion, not fact, and remains protected speech. So to Speak podcast transcript: What is academic freedom? 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. It . The AAUP released the report of an investigating committee on the dismissal of Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, a tenured English professor and endowed chair in Shakespeare studies at Linfield University in Oregon. Linfield has fired Pollack-Pelzner both as a punishment for his publicly holding the University responsible and as a warning to every other member of the faculty, the letter says. 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. 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. If your rights are in jeopardy, get in touch with us: thefire.org/alarm. WiMSE Partners to Help Invisible Homeless - January 26, 2023. statement last year from the Executive Committee of the universitys board of trustees. So which is it? 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. 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. Tenure is not at-will employment and the university promises procedural protections to its faculty. Why didnt his obituaries say so? On Friday, the local branch of the N.A.A.C.P. This shouldnt be hard to understand. Zestimate Home Value: $439,900. 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. 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. Be a part of it! 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. Colleen Flaherty April 19, 2021 (Daniel Pollack-Pelzner/Twitter) 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. And theres been a total lack of accountability on the part of the school to take responsibility for whats happened and to engage in an honest conversation.. 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. He said that as an African-American man, he understands the need for education, training and community engagement on matters of discrimination and intolerance.. Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212. Feb . As FIRE detailed yesterday, Linfield Universitys senior leadership abruptly terminated Daniel Pollack-Pelzner after he criticized the universitys 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. Davis has, until now, denied that claim. 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. Throughout a controversy that has resulted in two separate no-confidence votes, Davis and the board that supports him have behaved like petty tyrants, altering the colleges governance structure, suspending mass faculty emails, and insisting that all broad correspondence be vetted by the vice president of finance and administration. In interviews this week, Dr. Davis and the board chairman, David Baca, denied any wrongdoing. Review Beyond the Classroom Academic Opportunities Learning at Linfield spans well beyond the traditional classroom setting. 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. Miri Cypers, the groups regional director, said that while the A.D.L. 2023 jewish telegraphic agency all rights reserved. Lorraine Hansberrys second play had a white Jewish protagonist. Where small class sizes translate to big opportunities. 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.. (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. 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. It contains 3 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. A group of Stanford faculty are publicly objecting to a campus harm reporting system they say chills campus speech. According to the school spokesman, Baca purposefully sat next to Jubb at the bar in 2019 when he learned the student-trustee also had gone there with Jubb and other trustees. Check out our library of resources to get started on your First Amendment journey! The two statements are the latest developments in a controversy that has roiled the McMinnville campus for months. Mr. Bacas open letter also took aim at Dr. Pollack-Pelzner, saying it is shameful that a faculty trustee has spread misinformation about the sexual misconduct cases. That is exactly what FIRE is telling Davis and the institution he currently leads. Daviss answer is wildly implausible on its face and incomprehensibly at odds with the basic conception of tenure. 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. 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. The people who have been accused deny that these things were ever said, Linfield spokesperson Scott Nelson said in a statement. A student walks out of the Riley Center on the campus of Linfield University in McMinnville, Ore., Tuesday, May 21, 2019. Now people. 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. In a letter responding to the ADL, Davis invited the group to meet following the academic year but rebuffed the call to resign. Pollack-Pelzner said he hopes Linfield puts its energy toward building a safer and more supportive community for everyone instead of focusing its energy on him. How Oregon researchers are testing 3D printing to reconstruct bone. Academic freedom and freedom of inquiry are values to which Linfield University subscribes., But Linfields despotic administration has effectively renounced this statement in favor of a pithier one: Snitches get stitches.. Although he is stepping down as chair, Baca will still serve on the board. Davis is Linfields first Black president, and the report said that since 1970, no Black people have been elected as faculty trustee or faculty executive chair. Until then, the self-inflicted damage to Linfields reputation will continue to flow. Dismissal for cause must not be used to restrain faculty members in their exercise of academic freedom or other rights of [an] American citizen. Dismissal for cause must be preceded by, among other things, a statement of charges and a hearing. During the hearing process, the faculty member may not be suspended, much less fired, unless immediate harm to the faculty member or others is threatened by continuance.. The Rent Zestimate for this home is $3,499/mo, which has decreased by $500/mo in the last 30 days. said Dr. Davis had contacted it last month with concerns about racial bias. 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. At issue is Pollack-Pelzners unwelcome insistence that this same board take more seriously the documented mishandling of a case of trustee sexual misconduct, as well as additional similar allegations. 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 State College of Florida Bradenton requested a traveling art exhibition to remove pieces with the words diversity, inclusion, justice, and equality. Linfield served as Dean of Women from 1921 to 1928, and sat on the Board of Directors from 1922 to her death in 1940. Sign up to get important news and culture from around the Northwest, delivered to your inbox six days a week. The two statements are the latest developments in a controversy that has roiled the McMinnville campus for months. 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. Here, you'll find full details on how to place either request. Its overwhelming, its destabilizing its an attack on the values of higher education that I have worked so hard with colleagues to uphold, he said. OPBs critical reporting and inspiring programs are made possible by the power of member support. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 4d. Baca was with the group at the bar. 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. The Save Our Linfield nonprofit has raised more than $10,000 for a legal defense fund for . Davis said the university initiated internal and external investigations of each incident and found no support for the claims in Pollack-Pelzners posts. But Pollack-Pelzner told JTA that theres a real issue of institutional racism at Linfield and said that allegations against white members of the board had never been investigated, while allegations against Black members had been. He told the Chronicle that his comment had been informed by his time in the Middle East. According to the Chronicle: In an interview, Agre-Kippenhan said that Pollack-Pelzner had been fired from the university under his status as an employee, not as a tenured professor, and that the faculty handbook needed to be revised because many of the provisions in it were not entirely useful.. In a June 17, 2019, email to board members, Baca wrote that Jubb, 71, had advised him he was resigning due to health concerns. Baca cited Jubbs valuable service to the board and the College and urged gratitude for his positive contributions.. But that order was not strictly enforced, and Mr. Jubb was accused of sexual misconduct again in 2019, at an event Mr. Baca attended, he said. Portland Campus 2900 NE 132nd Ave Portland, Oregon 97230 971-369-4100. eCampus Online and Continuing Education (OCE) Online degrees and certificates 503-883-2200 Link to home page . "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. Anyone can read what you share. If this were to be credited, Davis Linfields president for the last three years either did not know that Linfield had guidelines for terminating tenured faculty members, believes that the university has replaced those policies, or believes that the current policies were implemented without his administrations approval. 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. 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. Linfield fires prof who raised sexual harassment, antisemitism allegations By Rob Manning (OPB) April 27, 2021 6:58 p.m. 2022 Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression 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 I understand it from the documents we reviewed, the allegations of antisemitic comments were investigated by the university, so that was litigated and resolved, he said. Set aside that President Daviss false denial of his comment on Jewish noses is the only blatantly false statement one can pin down in this case. Linfield University canceled faculty Listservs over the weekend, sparking faculty cries of censorship. This coded language plays off racist and toxic stereotypes with a long history in this country.. 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