2023 jewish telegraphic agency all rights reserved. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. His recent Twitter posting is just the latest salvo in an effort that has caused harm to the university and our community.. reporting from Linfields student newspaper The Linfield Review. Elan Ganeles, American killed in West Bank attack, remembered for his wit and friendship, As Orthodox Union and other Jewish groups condemn settler rampage, many avoid mentioning Benjamin Netanyahu, Planned Day of Hate against Jews passes by with packed synagogues and no violence, Red Sox exec Chaim Bloom says hes received antisemitism over teams woes, Jewish comedian Modi Rosenfeld says he still has plenty of Orthodox fans after opening up about being gay, ESPNs Jeff Passan opens up on his Hebrew school upbringing, interviewing Sandy Koufax and Jewish baseball history. (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. We find that President Davis has been subject to numerous instances of unfair treatment since his arrival in July 2018, and this unfair treatment of personal attacks were due to being a Black man, the report says. It is a small institution with an enrollment of 340 undergraduate students. ( JTA) Linfield University, a small school in Oregon, has fired a Jewish professor who accused the university president of making antisemitic remarks. If your rights are in jeopardy, get in touch with us: thefire.org/alarm. It could hardly be clearer. The indictment came after a student trustee filed a federal lawsuit in which she accused Mr. Jubb, 72, of assaulting her after a faculty-trustee dinner. According to The Oregonian, the university has hosed down sidewalk-chalk messages supporting Pelzner, threatening the students who wrote them with fines, and has torn down flyers criticizing his termination. Linfield laid this, and other allegations, out in a statement last year from the Executive Committee of the universitys board of trustees. We strive for an inclusive and welcoming campus for our students and employees.. Davis invited the NAACP to investigate whether he was subject to racist treatment after he was accused both of antisemitism as well as sexual assault. Linfield University announced Tuesday that the chair of its Board of Trustees, David Baca, has stepped down from the leadership post after four years, including a tumultuous last several months at the private college in McMinnville. 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. Pollack-Pelzners interpretation of what Davis meant is a matter of opinion, not fact, and remains protected speech. (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. Pollack-Pelzner said he doesnt know what his next steps will be, and that he isnt sure how he could persuade the administration to follow the guidelines in the handbook. [11] 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. He said racial bias might be a factor in the accusations. Davis also noted that two of the trustees who were accused of sexual misconduct are African-American. Linfields trustees failed see that deeply held resistance to Black leadership and culture fueled the ferocity of resistance to organization change, the report said. Additionally, the ADL encouraged Linfield leadership to attend trainings on bias and antisemitism. Linfields administration does not get to pick and choose between the policies it has and the policies it wishes it had. Pollack-Pelzner and two other professors accused Davis of making antisemitic comments about Jewish noses and the Holocaust, but Davis denied the allegations. He said that as an African-American man, he understands the need for education, training and community engagement on matters of discrimination and intolerance.. Last week, the faculty of Linfields College of Arts and Sciences overwhelmingly called for his resignation. One of those trustees resigned in 2019 and has been charged with sexual abuse. The university, which has about 1,900 students and 139 faculty members, maintains an affiliation with the American Baptist Churches U.S.A. Dr. Pollack-Pelzner lost his post a month after he had outlined multiple accusations of anti-Semitism and sexual misconduct by university leaders in a statement on Twitter. That concession is damning for Davis and Linfields claim that Pollack-Pelzners allegation is defamatory. Reportedly, campus security had entered faculty offices and removed posters in support of Pollack-Pelzner.. 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. Tenure is not at-will employment and the university promises procedural protections to its faculty. If a person walks up and punches a student in the face, youre telling me I need to go convene a group of people before I take any action against them?. The handbook needs to be revised or it was never approved? Anyone can read what you share. The reports only reference to the allegations of antisemitism comes in a rebuttal to the Jewish organizations that demanded Davis resignation. No competent university leader could credibly believe that tenured faculty are at-will employees. Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan are reviving it. Do these folks really think theyre going to win a social media war against Generation Z?, Trey PetersonWood, a recent Linfield graduate, said Monday that the more Linfield attempts to censor and silence advocates for accountability, the more damage they are causing to this great institution that has the potential to be a leader in the age of what oppressors call cancel culture, but in reality, its the age of accountability.. Pollack-Pelzners tweets stated that he was censored by the board in meetings. Dr. Davis said those accusations and others were being rehashed by professors unhappy with his restructuring of the university after years of declining enrollment. 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. Condemnation from parents, alumni and a national educational organization followed almost immediately after Linfield University fired tenured English professor Daniel Pollack-Pelzner in a rare. 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 also insisted that the remark was part of an academic discussion and wasnt meant to be offensive. Baca, a 1978 Linfield graduate and partner in the Davis Wright Tremaine law firm, recently was reelected to another three-year term on the board and remains its chair. In a letter responding to the ADL, Davis invited the group to meet following the academic year but rebuffed the call to resign. While we have strong disagreements with much of the media (and social media) speculation, we do not believe further argument in the press are an appropriate avenue for community healing.. No competent university leader could credibly believe that tenured faculty are at-will employees. Sie knnen Ihre Einstellungen jederzeit ndern. You will receive a link to create a new password via email. 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. Pioneer Hall on the Linfield University campus in McMinnville, Ore. Linfield University announced Tuesday that the chair of its Board of Trustees, David Baca, has stepped down from the leadership post after four years, including a tumultuous last several months. 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Higher Ed Leaders Propose Gun Violence Solutions, NYC Comptroller Urges Yeshiva U to Recognize LGBTQ Group, Ore. Lawmaker Seeks Sexual Misconduct Survey for All Colleges, New Report on the Resilience of Puerto Rican Universities. Based on that investigation, the NAACP criticized the ADL and Oregon Board of Rabbis for calling on Davis to resign. said Dr. Davis had contacted it last month with concerns about racial bias. 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 . Allegations of anti-Semitism, sexual misconduct and racial discrimination have led to turmoil on the small Oregon campus. Florida State University ranked No. 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. Resources for faculty and staff from our partners at Times Higher Education. If you face retaliation over protected speech, reach out to FIRE to learn more about how we can protect your rights. The boards executive committee has repeatedly expressed its confidence in Davis and Baca, and the board is poised to vote at its next meeting to eliminate the voting faculty trustee seat and add nonvoting faculty members. In February 2019 after a faculty-trustee dinner, Jubb is accused of sexually abusing student-trustee AnnaMarie Motis as the two waited for a ride in the lobby of Michelbook Country Club and then at a McMinnville bar where trustees had gone for after-dinner drinks. The local ADL representative did not respond to a call for comment on Friday. Check out our library of resources to get started on your First Amendment journey! 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. When asked whether the faculty-handbook procedures had been followed in Pollack-Pelzners firing, Davis said that the handbook had not been updated and that there are a number of things in that handbook that are not valid. The handbook says Fall 2020" on its title page, and the most recent update was in January of this year. In fact, there is one felony charge against Jubb, along with seven counts of third-degree sexual abuse, which is a misdemeanor in Oregon. Israeli Orthodox Jew raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for victims of settler riot, Wikipedias Supreme Court tackles alleged conspiracy to distort articles on Holocaust, This Purim, a space for queer Jews to celebrate their identities and dance the night away, Avi Maoz, Israeli politician and proud homophobe, resigns from deputy minister role, As Israel reels from violent attack on Palestinians, settler leadership remains unapologetic. 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.. In a statement, the university said Dr. Pollack-Pelzner had been fired for cause., He has engaged in conduct that is harmful to the university; deliberately violated instructions to preserve the attorney-client privilege, and deliberately circulated false statements about the university, its employees and its board and refused to comply with university policies, the statement said. A student walks out of the Riley Center on the campus of Linfield University in McMinnville, Ore., Tuesday, May 21, 2019. Rabbi Eve Posen, president of the Oregon Board of Rabbis, told JTA that the Oregon Board of Rabbis is interested and would be more than happy to work with the NAACP, but did not elaborate. statement last year from the Executive Committee of the universitys board of trustees. Why didnt his obituaries say so? Agre-Kippenhans theory that Linfield can do an end-run around faculty members due process protections by simply firing them as employees is almost clever. The university faces growing calls for the resignation of that president, Miles K. Davis, and the chairman of its board of trustees amid accusations that they made offensive comments about Jews and that Dr. Davis and three other board members had engaged in various forms of misconduct with female professors and students. The professor said he tried notifying his bosses about sexual harassment. Jewish and Arab noses, he explained, are actually around the same size. Discover who you're meant to be. Jackson B. Miller, a communication arts professor, criticized both statements, saying they discounted legitimate concerns raised by some about sexual misconduct. 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.. Pioneer Hall is seen through the signature oak trees at Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore., Tuesday, May 21, 2019. They have recklessly exposed the university to a lawsuit. How Oregon researchers are testing 3D printing to reconstruct bone. Friedman.. 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. By submitting the above I agree to the privacy policy and terms of use of JTA.org. Photo by Daniel Hurst, courtesy of Linfield College LC-LC-. 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. When he sent an email to himself as a test, he received, as the Chronicle of Higher Education reports, an auto-reply, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner is no longer an employee of Linfield University. A Linfield University spokesperson explains that Pollack-Pelzner was let go for circulating unspecified false statements, for an equally unspecified failure to comply with university policies, and generally being insubordinate.. $2.3B Qcells Solar Power Investment Holds Major Potential for Georgia - January 26, 2023. Other faculty members have since stepped forward to report an even stranger comment. A Linfield graduate, who agreed to be identified by her initials A.K., told the newspaper in May that the school failed to intervene as promised after she reported in 2018 that Jubb allegedly groped her and two other students after drinking too much at a bar following a senior achievement dinner on campus in 2017. Miles K. Davis, president of Linfield University, a long-ingrained American response to look away, The fallout across industries has been swift. Several professors have of late used mass emails or publicly criticized the university for what they describe as Linfield's poor handling of several sexual misconduct complaints involving members of the Board of Trustees. The president said that it had nothing to do with his fitness as a teacher or a researcher (though thats the standard, according to the faculty handbook). Dr. Friedman said she had also reported that another trustee, Norman Nixon, a former member of the Los Angeles Lakers, touched her thigh during a university dinner and asked if there was a Mr. On Thursday, he recalled discussing the physical characteristics of Jews and Arabs and making the point that this portrayal of Shylock with the hook nose is just ludicrous.. That was related to complaints of misconduct about former board member David Jubb, who was indicted last year on multiple counts of sexual abuse some of those counts relating to a female Linfield student who filed a federal lawsuit in 2019 against Jubb. This is what systemic and institutionalized racism looks like in Oregon., The N.A.A.C.P. Feb . Miri Cypers, the groups regional director, said that while the A.D.L. We've also seen the firings of two faculty members at Collin College for criticizing their administration about their COVID-19 reopening plans, . Linfield University, a liberal arts college in Oregon, claims repeatedly in its faculty handbook to honor academic freedom. Theres a reaction to change, he said. Davis stated that none of the allegations in Pollack-Pelzners tweets are recent and that they were all initially raised nearly a year ago. Dr. Pollack-Pelzner, who was hired by the university in 2010 and has written about theater and the arts as a contributor for The New York Times, said he had been fired without a hearing or any of the other due process protections normally granted to tenured faculty members. In a long March 29 Twitter thread, Pollack-Pelzner claimed that Board Chair David Baca told him that the Board never had a problem until [Pollack-Pelzner] became a trustee. He says that Linfields President, Miles K. Davis, told him that he was putting Linfield at risk by reporting claims of sexual misconduct, threatened [Pollack-Pelzner] with personal liability, and claimed that people like [Pollack-Pelzner] were destroying [Linfield] from within and could only show loyalty by accepting the teachings of Jesus Christ. Pollack-Pelzner is Jewish. Regardless, I asked for and received his resignation from the Board.. Davis denied making this comment before he admitted making it. 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. David Baca, longtime chair of Linfield Universitys Board of Trustees, said this week that hes stepping down. 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