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Controversial professor denied tenure; UT student urges hiring
By Zachary Posner
Andrew Dobbs wants to speak for the UT community and tell tenure-denied DePaul University professor Norman Finkelstein, "We want you."
Dobbs, a 23-year-old UT history student currently on personal leave from school, was able to make his plea to embrace the professor, who is newly available to Austin and, to his shock, the rest of the world, through the political blog BurntOrangeReport.com.
Dobb's article, titled "Hook Finkelstein," received an unlikely shout-out when it was quoted on the Web site of London-based newspaper The Guardian.
"I was completely surprised by it," Dobbs said. "However, [Burnt Orange Report] is a prominent political blog and it is definitely on people's radars."
The controversy surrounding Finkelstein, who was denied tenure last week, is one that UT government professor Clement Henry called "academic terrorism."
Finkelstein has grown in fame over the years, drawing praise and criticism alike for his views on Israeli politics and what he has dubbed "The Holocaust Industry." In a book of the same title, he takes the controversial stance that some Jewish people have exploited the Holocaust for monetary and political power. Finkelstein will leave DePaul University on June 16, according to a recording on his office voice mail.
Many people, Dobbs and Henry included, are of the opinion that DePaul was swayed by outside political factors, thus turning Finkelstein's tenure decision into a fight over academic freedom.
"Whether you disagree with him or not, he has a right to say what he feels, and I think he does so pretty convincingly," Dobbs said. "It's not as if he is promoting violence."
Henry agrees with Dobbs but would not comment on the feasibility of Dobbs' dream of having Finkelstein join the UT faculty.
"It's a rather sad day for academic freedom," said Henry. "He is a very strong candidate and should stand up at any top university in world." Henry later said that there would be hell to pay in Austin if someone of Finkelstein's stature was denied tenure.
In a written statement from DePaul University, President Dennis Holtschneider said outside interest in the tenure decision was "unwelcome and inappropriate and had no impact on either the process or the outcome of this case."
"Some will consider this decision in the context of academic freedom," he said. "In fact, academic freedom is alive and well at DePaul. It is guaranteed both as an integral part of the university's scholarly and religious heritage, and as an essential condition of effective inquiry and instruction."
http://media.www.dailytexanonline.c....Tenure.Ut.Student.Urges.Hiring-2915132.shtml
By Zachary Posner
Andrew Dobbs wants to speak for the UT community and tell tenure-denied DePaul University professor Norman Finkelstein, "We want you."
Dobbs, a 23-year-old UT history student currently on personal leave from school, was able to make his plea to embrace the professor, who is newly available to Austin and, to his shock, the rest of the world, through the political blog BurntOrangeReport.com.
Dobb's article, titled "Hook Finkelstein," received an unlikely shout-out when it was quoted on the Web site of London-based newspaper The Guardian.
"I was completely surprised by it," Dobbs said. "However, [Burnt Orange Report] is a prominent political blog and it is definitely on people's radars."
The controversy surrounding Finkelstein, who was denied tenure last week, is one that UT government professor Clement Henry called "academic terrorism."
Finkelstein has grown in fame over the years, drawing praise and criticism alike for his views on Israeli politics and what he has dubbed "The Holocaust Industry." In a book of the same title, he takes the controversial stance that some Jewish people have exploited the Holocaust for monetary and political power. Finkelstein will leave DePaul University on June 16, according to a recording on his office voice mail.
Many people, Dobbs and Henry included, are of the opinion that DePaul was swayed by outside political factors, thus turning Finkelstein's tenure decision into a fight over academic freedom.
"Whether you disagree with him or not, he has a right to say what he feels, and I think he does so pretty convincingly," Dobbs said. "It's not as if he is promoting violence."
Henry agrees with Dobbs but would not comment on the feasibility of Dobbs' dream of having Finkelstein join the UT faculty.
"It's a rather sad day for academic freedom," said Henry. "He is a very strong candidate and should stand up at any top university in world." Henry later said that there would be hell to pay in Austin if someone of Finkelstein's stature was denied tenure.
In a written statement from DePaul University, President Dennis Holtschneider said outside interest in the tenure decision was "unwelcome and inappropriate and had no impact on either the process or the outcome of this case."
"Some will consider this decision in the context of academic freedom," he said. "In fact, academic freedom is alive and well at DePaul. It is guaranteed both as an integral part of the university's scholarly and religious heritage, and as an essential condition of effective inquiry and instruction."
http://media.www.dailytexanonline.c....Tenure.Ut.Student.Urges.Hiring-2915132.shtml
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