Wednesday, June 13, 2007

DePaul president may face no confidence vote

The Norman Finkelstein tenure battle has moved to a new front: the office of the Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, President of DePaul University.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Faculty at DePaul University are considering taking votes of no confidence in (sic) the school president and other officials in the wake of tenure denials issued to two faculty members.

Separate faculty councils are meeting today and Thursday to discuss the rejections of assistant professors Norman Finkelstein and Mehrene Larudee despite strong support from their academic departments and a College of Liberal Arts and Sciences committee.

The tenure bid of Finkelstein, son of Holocaust survivors, had drawn widespread attention because of his suggestions that some Jews had exploited their suffering. Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz criticized Finkelstein's scholarship.

Larudee, who was to take over as chair of international studies, helped organize support for Finkelstein and now wonders if that hurt her.

I'm less familiar with the Larudee situation than Finkelstein, although the DePaul Activist Student Union, which organized the protest on Monday in support of Finkelstein, cites her situation on their web site.

If the no confidence vote gains steam, I hope the case of fired DePaul professor Thomas Klocek is brought into the list of grievances.

Related posts:

Marathon Pundit exclusive: Pro-Finkelstein protesters swarm DePaul president's office

Breaking: DePaul's Finkelstein denied tenure

Sept 15: Second anniversary of the beginning of the Thomas Klocek affair

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