Sally Haslanger alerted me to a truly shocking story, if true. It appears to be a case of shocking retaliation against Prof. Jacqueline Stevens, professor in the Political Science Department at Northwestern, an internal critic of the university's cozy-ing up to the military-industrial complex. I have been on the road, so I have been unable to verify the details and await Northwestern University's response and newspaper reporting. You can see the details of her side of the story here.
I decided to sign the letter once assured it is not a hoax. I hope the letter and subsequent publicity will allow the details of the case to become more widely known and evaluated by appropriate panels of Prof. Stevens's peers or the law courts.
UPDATE (8 September): I found this article in The Daily Northwestern very useful in explaining the issues and complexities of the case.
Dear Dean Adrian Randolph ([email protected])
CC: Rima Kapitan <[email protected]> [lawyer of Prof. Stevens--ES],
We, the undersigned, object to the actions taken against Prof. Jacqueline Stevens, professor in the Political Science Department at Northwestern. It is our understanding that Prof. Stevens has been banned from campus and from contact with students due to allegations of threatening behavior. However, we are not convinced that the basis for the action taken against her is warranted, given that specific and credible charges of wrongdoing have not been articulated.
Given the nature of Prof. Stevens’ research and activism, we fear that this action violates her academic freedom. She works on sensitive topics of public concern. It is the responsibility of academics to raise difficult questions, and even question the actions and policies of their employers. The principle of academic freedom that protects such investigation and scrutiny is crucial to a healthy democracy.
We urge you to reconsider your actions. Thus far, they are incompatible with values that undergird the academy and thereby discredit Northwestern University.
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