In an interview on Friday, Mr. Baca acknowledged mentioning a power grab in a long and contentious discussion but said he had not known that Dr. Pollack-Pelzner was Jewish or that the comment could be construed as anti-Semitic. But my fellow trustees, who are very familiar with the events, have urged me to remain as Chairman. Linfield fires prof who raised sexual harassment, antisemitism allegations By Rob Manning (OPB) April 27, 2021 6:58 p.m. The reports only reference to the allegations of antisemitism comes in a rebuttal to the Jewish organizations that demanded Davis resignation. Linfield University canceled faculty Listservs over the weekend, sparking faculty cries of censorship. Linfield University is affiliated with American Baptist Churches, USA. 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. It said that he had been called divisive, intimidating, combative, aggressive, disrespectful and abusive, which the report called coded racist language. The governing council of a national academic association this week voted to censure Linfield University over the abrupt firing of tenured English professor Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, an advocate. An open letter signed by more than 1,800 professors says that Linfield denied Pollack-Pelzner due process. 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. He said racial bias might be a factor in the accusations. Dr. Vivian Ann (Johnson) Bull of Madison, New Jersey, a former college president and professor, and a recognized authority on the Middle East economic issues, died Aug. 12. Based on that investigation, the NAACP criticized the ADL and Oregon Board of Rabbis for calling on Davis to resign. 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. Why didnt his obituaries say so? The firing of a tenured professor at Linfield University in Oregon without a hearing has sparked a controversy involving allegations of anti-Semitism, racism, and claims that sexual. Linfield University locations: McMinnville Campus 900 SE Baker Street McMinnville, Oregon 97128 503-883-2200. Its been such a blow and its so overwhelming, he said. Why didnt his obituaries say so? Linfield University is affiliated with American Baptist Churches, USA. That concession is damning for Davis and Linfields claim that Pollack-Pelzners allegation is defamatory. Miles K. Davis, president of Linfield University, a long-ingrained American response to look away, The fallout across industries has been swift. Pioneer Hall on the Linfield University campus in McMinnville, Ore. Davis also argued that a. He said the university had ordered Mr. Jubb to stop fraternizing with students after he was first accused of misconduct in 2018. The boards vice-chair, Kerry Carmody, will become interim chair on Oct. 1. Last week Linfield professor and faculty trustee Daniel Pollack-Pelzner tweeted that he faced antisemitic comments after he reported that multiple members of the universitys Board of Trustees had been accused of sexual misconduct by students and faculty over the past year. Baca has been on the board for13 years. If you face retaliation over protected speech, reach out to FIRE to learn more about how we can protect your rights. 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. Richard Belzer was a Jewish comedian. 8011 Linfield Way, Atlanta, GA is a townhome home that contains 2,413 sq ft and was built in 2020. In interviews this week, Dr. Davis and the board chairman, David Baca, denied any wrongdoing. You will complete approximately one-third of your courses in the core. MSE News. 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. There is a jury trial scheduled for that case in November. The Oregon Board of Rabbis called on Dr. Davis and Mr. Baca to resign. Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, a tenured. 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. OPBs critical reporting and inspiring programs are made possible by the power of member support. By submitting the above I agree to the privacy policy and terms of use of JTA.org. Linfields administration does not get to pick and choose between the policies it has and the policies it wishes it had. Dr. Tompkins remembered slightly different wording. Affording process before any action? Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Pollack-Pelzner goes on to relate a strange comment President Davis made, presumably to indicate Daviss opposition to anti-Semitism. On Friday, the local branch of the N.A.A.C.P. 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. Across the country, colleges and universities have been wrestling with allegations of sexual misconduct, racial discrimination and anti-Semitism. 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 canceled faculty Listservs over the weekend, sparking faculty cries of censorship. Linfields administration does not get to pick and choose between the policies it has and the policies it wishes it had. In addition, the schools president, Miles K. Davis, told the Chronicle of Higher Education that he had in fact made a comment about the size of Jewish noses to Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, the professor who was fired this week. 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. 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 . We strive for an inclusive and welcoming campus for our students and employees.. The professor said he tried notifying his bosses about sexual harassment. Please enter your email address. Until then, it may be unwise in defending against accusations that the university mishandled allegations of sexual misconduct to summarily terminate a tenured faculty member because he got the number of felony sexual assault counts wrong. The people who have been accused deny that these things were ever said, Linfield spokesperson Scott Nelson said in a statement. 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. 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. 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. The State College of Florida Bradenton requested a traveling art exhibition to remove pieces with the words diversity, inclusion, justice, and equality. Linfield is inventing policies on the fly to justify its retaliation against a tenured faculty member. gave support to his account of racial bias, releasing a report that praised Dr. Daviss leadership and said he had been subjected to unfair personal attacks because of his race. Zestimate Home Value: $439,900. 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. 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. 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. 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. In his first detailed statement on the complaints, Baca wrote that he regretted, that we did not strictly enforce an order that Mr. Jubb refrain from fraternizing with students during the evening when the second incident allegedly took place., He said he realized too late that a mistake had been made in allowing Mr. Jubb to attend the bar gathering after the faculty/trustee dinner. And as for whether this handbook had been approved by Linfields administration? 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. Be a part of it! So which is it? 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. On Thursday, Pollack-Pelzner told JTA that he learned he was fired only when he discovered he was locked out of his work email. 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. 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. I think its incredulous that so many hurtful and disturbing and inappropriate comments have been made, Miri Cypers, the ADLs Pacific Northwest regional director, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. As for whether he faces eight felony charges or one felony charge and seven misdemeanors, the remark is substantially true: He does, in fact, face eight criminal charges. If this is what Linfield wants its faculty standards to look like, one would not need to look far to see how it will be abused.). 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 . She singled out Baca for criticism, saying the schools general counsel told her that Baca gave his word that David Jubb would never have contact with students again or be allowed at events that served alcohol.. 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). Davis denied making this comment before he admitted making it. Photo by Daniel Hurst, courtesy of Linfield College LC-LC-. 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.. 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. And where exploring your passions uncovers a lifetime of success. 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. Faculty supported the motion 88 to 18. Sign up to get important news and culture from around the Northwest, delivered to your inbox six days a week. It is a small institution with an enrollment of 340 undergraduate students. Learn with FIRE provides learners with the opportunity to take courses on a wide range of topics, including free speech and due process, designed by our expert staff. Finally, the President said that people like me were destroying [Linfield] from within and could only show loyalty by accepting the teachings of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, Pollack-Pelzner tweeted. He continued: What I want is for Linfield to be a place where everyone feels that they can report whats happened to them without fear of harassment or retaliation and that we can have the education and the community commitment we need to prevent these abuses from happening in the first place.. Carmody has been on the board since 2008. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Now people. 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. But no such corollary exists for faculty and students should not be subject to such a bizarre policy. As the controversy has dragged on, Mr. Baca, the board chairman, has tried to reassure students and others on campus who have protested the handling of the sexual misconduct accusations, writing. All rights reserved (About Us). Colleen Flaherty April 19, 2021 (Daniel Pollack-Pelzner/Twitter) 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. 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. President Davis has been accused of being divisive, intimidating, combative, aggressive, disrespectful and abusive. Philadelphia, PA 19106. Mr. Jubb has pleaded not guilty and his case is scheduled for trial in November, his lawyer said. 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. Linfield University is a private institution that was founded in 1858. (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 stands against xenophobia, racism, antisemitism and sexual misconduct in all forms.. 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. (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 local branch of the NAACP found that the Oregon schools president was subjected to racism at the school. Resources for faculty and staff from our partners at Times Higher Education. Jackson B. Miller, a communication arts professor, criticized both statements,. 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. You will receive a link to create a new password via email. 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