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U. of Illinois Committee Recommends Reevaluation of Steven Salaita

The Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure (CAFT) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) has assessing the university鈥檚 decision not to hire professor Steven Salaita because of a series of tweets he posted to his personal Twitter account just before the university鈥檚 board of trustees was set to vote on his appointment to the faculty. is part of the university Senate and is tasked with investigating potential violations of academic freedom and shared governance. Most critically, CAFT reaffirmed in its report that, contrary to statements from Chancellor Phyllis Wise, 鈥渃ivility does not constitute a legitimate criterion for rejecting [Salaita鈥檚] appointment.鈥

Several elements of the case have been hotly debated over the past five months. First is the question of whether Salaita was an employee entitled to academic freedom or whether he was just a potential hire. Though CAFT characterized Salaita鈥檚 status as 鈥渋n-between,鈥 it acknowledged the many reasons why the Board鈥檚 vote appeared to be essentially a mere formality, e.g., Salaita鈥檚 classes had been scheduled and posted online. Accordingly, CAFT wrote, there were 鈥渃ompelling reasons to grant Dr. Salaita the academic freedom and liberty of political speech normally afforded to a member of the faculty.鈥

The report is praiseworthy for its clear and repeated declarations that 鈥渃ivility鈥 cannot be mandated among university professors. The justifications put forth by Wise, and later by the Board of Trustees when it voted against Salaita鈥檚 appointment in September, are 鈥渘ot consistent with the University鈥檚 guarantee of freedom of political speech,鈥 the report says. , the report reminds readers that 鈥渄ebate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks.鈥 The report also says, as FIREhas frequently pointed out, that 鈥渃ivility鈥 is too vague a standard鈥攐ne that has been used 鈥渢o ostracize individuals or entire social groups on the grounds that they are savage, barbarous, primitive, infantile, ill bred, or uncouth.鈥

The committee also found that Wise disregarded principles of shared governance in blocking Salaita鈥檚 appointment without first consulting the provost, the faculty who had recommended his hiring, or other interested parties.

Salaita may, nevertheless, face another obstacle if he continues to fight for a job at UIUC. 鈥淭here are circumstances where political speech can legitimately trigger inquiry into professional fitness,鈥 the report says, but it emphasizes that the question is 鈥渙ne of professional fitness, not political acceptability.鈥 Under CAFT鈥檚 analysis, Salaita鈥檚 case may hinge on whether his tweets demonstrate that he is so politically inflexible that he is unable to engage in the kind of critical thought that is necessary in his classes. In any case, though, 鈥淪alaita should be provided the opportunity to respond to any proposed findings of professional unfitness before the body concludes its proceedings.鈥

CAFT concluded that Salaita鈥檚 鈥渃andidacy [should] be remanded to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for reconsideration by a committee of qualified academic experts.鈥

Check back to The Torch for updates.

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