In another account, a faculty member accused Linfield President Davis of misconduct. Lorraine Hansberrys second play had a white Jewish protagonist. Linfield University is affiliated with American Baptist Churches, USA. Although he is stepping down as chair, Baca will still serve on the board. They have recklessly exposed the university to a lawsuit. Klicken Sie auf Einstellungen verwalten um weitere Informationen zu erhalten und Ihre Einstellungen zu verwalten. In order to mitigate the harm caused by discrimination, or even the perception of discrimination, it is important that Linfield University thoroughly investigate the allegations raised, Cypers wrote. Tenure and contracts are not Calvinball. Presented by FIRE and College Pulse, the 2022 College Free Speech Rankings is the largest survey of campus free expression ever performed. This shouldnt be hard to understand. Allegations of Anti-Semitism at Linfield The university's ongoing sexual misconduct scandal involving trustees is a two-headed monster, now that one faculty trustee says he faced anti-Semitism for pushing for reform. Allegations of anti-Semitism, sexual misconduct and racial discrimination have led to turmoil on the small Oregon campus. But, for Davis, the minutiae of process are important for others: So what did Pollack-Pelzner do to merit his dismissal? The metadata of the PDF file reveals that it was generated by an executive assistant to Susan Agre-Kippenhan, the senior Linfield administrator who announced Pollack-Pelzners termination. Linfield University. That is our challenge and our charge.. It is exciting to be part of Linfield during this time of evolution and progress, and I look forward to working with faculty, staff, administration and the Linfield community as we design and begin our new strategic planning process, Carmody said in a statement. Research Reveals Thermal Instability of Solar Cells but Offers a Bright Path Forward - February 14, 2023. Last year, Linfields faculty assembly voted it had no confidence in Baca, specifically in his ability to handle sexual harassment reporting, according to reporting from Linfields student newspaper The Linfield Review. In another incident, Dr. Friedman reported that Dr. Davis had come up from behind her after a panel discussion in 2018 and had rubbed his hands up and down her arms while whispering that he was looking forward to meeting her later, she said. 2023 jewish telegraphic agency all rights reserved. Resources for faculty and staff from our partners at Times Higher Education. The university respects that individuals are free to express their opinions on social media, but that doesnt make them accurate, Nelson said. How Oregon researchers are testing 3D printing to reconstruct bone. The handbook was last updated in January of this year, according to the Chronicle. 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. WiMSE Partners to Help Invisible Homeless - January 26, 2023. The Oregon Board of Rabbis called on Dr. Davis and Mr. Baca to resign. 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. He has denied the students allegations, Baca wrote. 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. Friedman.. If you face retaliation over protected speech, reach out to FIRE to learn more about how we can protect your rights. Email at [email protected]; 503-221-8212. 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. But my fellow trustees, who are very familiar with the events, have urged me to remain as Chairman. In an effort to squelch criticism, the colleges administrators caught the attention of major defenders of academic freedom, as well as the Anti-Defamation League. Where small class sizes translate to big opportunities. 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. In response, he said, Mr. Baca, the board chairman, accused me a Jewish trustee of harboring a secret agenda to grab power.. So eight criminal charges total, not all of them felonies. Zestimate Home Value: $439,900. How to request transcripts Contact us For more information on how to get involved with Linfield, please don't hesitate to reach out. 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. Other faculty members have since stepped forward to report an even stranger comment. Pioneer Hall on the Linfield University campus in McMinnville, Ore. 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.. Her gift included real estate in Spokane, Washington, valued at $250,000 (a sum worth nearly $4 million in 2020). Last week, the faculty of Linfields College of Arts and Sciences overwhelmingly called for his resignation. 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. Nelson said outside law firms, internal investigators and the universitys human resources office investigated and found no evidence to support the claims of antisemitic comments Pollack-Pelzner laid out in his posts. 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. Im trying to figure out what my options are. Linfield President Davis said in a statement that Carmody has the experience and enthusiasm to lead Linfield through this period of transformation and growth., He continued: He will bring fresh ideas and perspectives and shares our commitment to re-envisioning learning, challenging students to explore greater possibilities and building a welcoming and supportive community.. It . In a letter responding to the ADL, Davis invited the group to meet following the academic year but rebuffed the call to resign. So to Speak podcast transcript: What is academic freedom? 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. 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. Sign up to get important news and culture from around the Northwest, delivered to your inbox six days a week. 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.. 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. 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.. 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. Based on that investigation, the NAACP criticized the ADL and Oregon Board of Rabbis for calling on Davis to resign. Linfield University has agreed to pay just over $1 million to settle a whistleblower suit filed by tenured English professor Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, who accused the university of firing him. statement last year from the Executive Committee of the universitys board of trustees. Regardless, I asked for and received his resignation from the Board.. [11] 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 . Jackson B. Miller, a communication arts professor, criticized both statements, saying they discounted legitimate concerns raised by some about sexual misconduct. Why didnt his obituaries say so? But no such corollary exists for faculty and students should not be subject to such a bizarre policy. Dr. Davis said those accusations and others were being rehashed by professors unhappy with his restructuring of the university after years of declining enrollment. 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.. Editors Note: This story has been updated to include information about investigations of sexual harassment at Linfield, based on summaries provided to OPB after the story originally published. 2023 jewish telegraphic agency all rights reserved. Joe Wilferth, dean of arts and sciences, also wrote to faculty members to say, In my experience over the last seven months, what has been written and shared in these various outlets, even on university e-mail lists, only serves to exacerbate what is arguably an already-hostile work environment., The boards executive committee recently endorsed a deans proposal that the campus engage in mediation to facilitate a culture of understanding and mutual respect that leads to university-wide cooperation and collaboration including the articulation of standards related to professional responsibilities and an institutional code of conduct., Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt, professor of English, underscored the university's desire to adopt a code of conduct and she sees it as an "egregious violation of academic freedom.Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, another professor of English who has criticized the university publicly, wrote on Twitter, So, in response to allegations of misconduct, @LinfieldUniv has shut down student comments on Instagram, censored critical posts on Facebook, and suspended campus email lists. Linfield served as Dean of Women from 1921 to 1928, and sat on the Board of Directors from 1922 to her death in 1940. Pollack-Pelzners tweets stated that he was censored by the board in meetings. All Ive been trying to do for the last two years is to get Linfield leadership to follow its own policies. But its logic more closely resembles spammy Internet advertising than a coherent application of law or policy: Tenured Faculty Members Hate This One Weird Trick! While I did not witness any untoward behavior as alleged, I regret that Mr. Jubb was allowed to be in the same setting with a student, Mr. Baca wrote. The people who have been accused deny that these things were ever said, Linfield spokesperson Scott Nelson said in a statement. Richard Belzer was a Jewish comedian. 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. Several professors have of late used mass emails or publicly criticized the university for what they describe as Linfield's poor handling of several sexual misconduct complaints involving members of the Board of Trustees. Baca, a 1978 Linfield graduate and partner in the Davis Wright Tremaine law firm, recently was reelected to another three-year term on the board and remains its chair. Its been such a blow and its so overwhelming, he said. He said Pollack-Pelzners firing was a personnel issue that Im not a party to and I have no opinion one way or the other about it., Pollack-Pelzners firing has led to an outcry among professors worldwide. By submitting the above I agree to the privacy policy and terms of use of JTA.org. Davis denied making this comment before he admitted making it. Davis said he didnt remember Pollack-Pelzners mentioning he was Jewish. $2.3B Qcells Solar Power Investment Holds Major Potential for Georgia - January 26, 2023. Obviously, a university need not convene a unanimous jury before stopping ongoing physical violence. 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.. Feb . (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. 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. ( 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. 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. 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. Linfield stands against xenophobia, racism, antisemitism and sexual misconduct in all forms.. Florida State University ranked No. Lost your password? Linfields administration does not get to pick and choose between the policies it has and the policies it wishes it had. Pioneer Hall is the oldest building on the Linfield campus, constructed in 1881. 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. If Baca isnt going to step down, he should at least apologize for the tone of his statement, Miller wrote Friday in an email to Linfield faculty. Check out our library of resources to get started on your First Amendment journey! David Baca, longtime chair of Linfield University's Board of Trustees, said this week that he's stepping down. 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. Davis had previously denied making the comment, and an investigation into him had concluded based on his denial that the comment could not be substantiated. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Dr. Bull served in numerous capacities and was a leader in opening new career paths for women in the corporate and educational fields. 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. 510 Walnut St. | Suite 1250 A Linfield graduate, who agreed to be identified by her initials A.K., told the newspaper in May that the school failed to intervene as promised after she reported in 2018 that Jubb allegedly groped her and two other students after drinking too much at a bar following a senior achievement dinner on campus in 2017. Linfield by-laws require a lengthy process including multiple hearings, which did not happen in Pollack-Pelzners case. Jubb has pleaded not guilty to sex abuse charges. 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.. Davis said the university initiated internal and external investigations of each incident and found no support for the claims in Pollack-Pelzners posts. 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. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. A petition protesting the firing has now been signed by hundreds of other faculty members across the country and around the world. He said the university had ordered Mr. Jubb to stop fraternizing with students after he was first accused of misconduct in 2018. It could hardly be clearer. Pollack-Pelzner said he believed the antisemitism was partly in response to his asking the school to do more to address allegations of sexual assault. Linfield - Nursing is a private university located in Portland, Oregon. The Anti-Defamation League and Oregon Board of Rabbis also asked him to resign. 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. Kerry Carmody, the board's vice chair, was named . Its retaliatory in the extreme.. When he sent an email to the account from his personal email, he received an automatic response saying he no longer worked at the school. The Oregonian/OregonLive generally doesnt identify alleged victims of sexual abuse but Motis said she wanted to be named after filing a lawsuit against the school. 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. Pollack-Pelzner goes on to relate a strange comment President Davis made, presumably to indicate Daviss opposition to anti-Semitism. 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. Related Stories Alumni push for change at Linfield University amid allegations of harassment, misconduct. The Zestimate for this Townhouse is $559,300, which has decreased by $54,929 in the last 30 days.The Rent Zestimate for this Townhouse is $3,499/mo, which has decreased by $247/mo in the last 30 days. The boards vice-chair, Kerry Carmody, will become interim chair on Oct. 1. Fill out the form below to receive personalized communications or close this window to continue. Forward - February 14, 2023 own policy on firing a tenured professor for cause be. Forward to report an even stranger comment for others: so what did do! Comment President Davis made, presumably to indicate Daviss opposition to anti-Semitism Amendment journey is academic freedom admitted! Last year from the Executive Committee of the universitys board of Rabbis for calling on Davis to resign as. Merit his dismissal Linfield leadership to follow its own policies news and culture around! 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