linfield university controversy
( JTA) Linfield University, a small school in Oregon, has fired a Jewish professor who accused the university president of making antisemitic remarks. Linfield University locations: McMinnville Campus 900 SE Baker Street McMinnville, Oregon 97128 503-883-2200. 21,741 followers. $2.3B Qcells Solar Power Investment Holds Major Potential for Georgia - January 26, 2023. Linfield University is affiliated with American Baptist Churches, USA. Feb . 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. How Oregon researchers are testing 3D printing to reconstruct bone. 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. In doing so, it said, he was insubordinate and interfered with the universitys administration of its responsibilities.. The reports only reference to the allegations of antisemitism comes in a rebuttal to the Jewish organizations that demanded Davis resignation. 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. This shouldnt be hard to understand. 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.. We strive for an inclusive and welcoming campus for our students and employees.. But then theres also, maybe, a reaction to who is bringing the change., Dr. Davis said he was particularly stung by the claims of anti-Semitism, calling it the thing that bothers me the most. Last year, he denied making the remark about Jewish noses, and an investigator hired by the university called it a he said, he said situation that could not be substantiated. College faculty overwhelmingly passed a vote of no confidence in Baca on May 26, finding he failed to protect students after receiving a complaint in 2018 from a graduate who accused Jubb of sexually abusing her and two of her friends the prior year. The controversies have played out for months in a federal lawsuit filed by a student, through public statements from faculty members and leaders, student protests, and votes of no confidence. No competent university leader could credibly believe that tenured faculty are at-will employees. 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.. Baca came under scrutiny most recently earlier this year when former faculty member Daniel Pollack-Pelzner brought to light allegations of harassment and anti-Semitism among Linfield leadership. Fill out the form below to receive personalized communications or close this window to continue. A student walks out of the Riley Center on the campus of Linfield University in McMinnville, Ore., Tuesday, May 21, 2019. Dr. Pollack-Pelzner also said that Dr. Davis had made a comment in 2018 about measuring the size of Jewish noses when the professor had mentioned that he was teaching The Merchant of Venice, which features Shylock, a character often criticized as an anti-Semitic stereotype. Obviously, a university need not convene a unanimous jury before stopping ongoing physical violence. statement last year from the Executive Committee of the universitys board of trustees. 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. About a month after his widely shared Twitter thread, Pollack-Pelzner was let go so abruptly that he learned of it only when he was locked out of Linfields email system. 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. Welcome to Linfield University Discover a community where acceptance is an unbreakable promise and being uncommon is the norm. In fact, there is one felony charge against Jubb, along with seven counts of third-degree sexual abuse, which is a misdemeanor in Oregon. Be a part of it! 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. Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212. Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Click here! This is simply not how tenure works. 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). There will be a trial and the facts will be determined by a jury. That is exactly what FIRE is telling Davis and the institution he currently leads. 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.. 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. 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. It is a small institution with an enrollment of 340 undergraduate students. 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. The university said he had vigorously denied the allegations. He acknowledged the university still has work to do, particularly surrounding implicit bias and microaggressions. In a letter responding to the ADL, Davis invited the group to meet following the academic year but rebuffed the call to resign. The professor said he tried notifying his bosses about sexual harassment. 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." It . Start your risk free trial with unlimited access. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Zestimate Home Value: $439,900. 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 . Review Beyond the Classroom Academic Opportunities Learning at Linfield spans well beyond the traditional classroom setting. No competent university leader could credibly believe that tenured faculty are at-will employees. How Oregon researchers are testing 3D printing to reconstruct bone. Linfield - Nursing is a private university located in Portland, Oregon. (Courtesy of Linfield University). David Baca, the embattled chair of Linfield Universitys board of trustees, said he offered to resign after a faculty vote of no confidence in late May over his handling of sexual abuse allegations against another trustee, but other trustees convinced him to stay on. 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. 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. He told the Chronicle that his comment had been informed by his time in the Middle East. MSE News. 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 goes on to relate a strange comment President Davis made, presumably to indicate Daviss opposition to anti-Semitism. Last year, controversy broke out again after a viral column in JCU's student newspaper posited that the show represented "the deviant entertainment of misguided young people." The column prompted widespread debate about free speech and LGBTQ inclusivity on campus, as well as an administrative investigation into the author of the critical column. With Linfield . 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 justifications offered by Linfields leadership to the Chronicle are incoherent. The handbook was last updated in January of this year, according to the Chronicle. But, for Davis, the minutiae of process are important for others: So what did Pollack-Pelzner do to merit his dismissal? Why didnt his obituaries say so? Instead, he said, it was the result of Pollack-Pelzners having made a number of statements that were blatantly false. The example he cited is the professors stating, in a recent email to Linfield faculty members, that Jubb, the former trustee, faced eight felony counts. The outside investigator found the faculty members report to be substantiated by a preponderance of the evidence, but said that it did not rise to the level of violating Linfields harassment or Title IX policy. 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. The Rent Zestimate for this home is $3,499/mo, which has decreased by $500/mo in the last 30 days. 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). 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. 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.. Although he is stepping down as chair, Baca will still serve on the board. 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. How to request transcripts Contact us For more information on how to get involved with Linfield, please don't hesitate to reach out. Linfield University locations: McMinnville Campus 900 SE Baker Street McMinnville, Oregon 97128 503-883-2200. A group of Stanford faculty are publicly objecting to a campus harm reporting system they say chills campus speech. 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.. 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. He said the university had ordered Mr. Jubb to stop fraternizing with students after he was first accused of misconduct in 2018. 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. 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. 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. 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.. 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