The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has condemned Indiana University Northwest for firing a tenured black professor after alleging he said “words to 바카라사이트 effect that ‘바카라사이트 only way to end racism is to kill all 바카라사이트 white people’”.
A new AAUP report calls “implausible” 바카라사이트 allegation that 바카라사이트 professor “actually threatened to hurt white people”, noting one person it interviewed who called his manner “mild and soothing”.
Mark McPhail was once 바카라사이트 chief academic officer of IUN, as 바카라사이트 campus is known. He was a communication professor at 바카라사이트 time of his 2021 firing and is now interim vice president for academic affairs and provost at Oregon’s Linfield University. The AAUP released an investigative report today, citing interviews of nine current and former IU employees it conducted, atop a previous investigation done by IUN’s Faculty Board of Review.
“The [AAUP] committee cannot help drawing 바카라사이트 sad conclusion that, if Professor McPhail had not questioned 바카라사이트 racism on campus and at IU, he might have been spared, at least temporarily, from becoming a target of it,” 바카라사이트 report says.
“The racial climate at IUN appears to be unwelcoming to faculty members of color,” 바카라사이트 report says. “In Professor McPhail’s case, it appeared to have been downright hostile, as evidenced by 바카라사이트 presence of racist tropes of incompetent, angry and physically violent Black men in 바카라사이트 language used to justify his dismissal.”
The report says IUN cited IU’s whistle-blower policy to decline “to identify 바카라사이트 individuals who allegedly reported that Professor McPhail had made threats of violence, leaving Professor McPhail to bear 바카라사이트 additional burden of refuting 바카라사이트 claims of anonymous accusers”.
The AAUP also says Professor McPhail was given no hearing before his firing. Instead, 바카라사이트 report says, he was fired in September 2021 when three campus police officers showed up at his Wisconsin home, 150 miles from 바카라사이트 Gary campus, and delivered a trespass notice threatening arrest if he entered university property.
“After he made a telephone call that evening to 바카라사이트 office of a colleague in Bloomington [Indiana], police officers notified him that his call had violated 바카라사이트 trespass notice,” 바카라사이트 report says.
The month before all this, 바카라사이트 university had suspended Professor McPhail from teaching and cut his salary by 75 per cent after giving him a poor teaching evaluation, 바카라사이트 AAUP wrote.
According to 바카라사이트 Faculty Board of Review’s interviews, “none of 바카라사이트 three people who had spoken directly to Professor McPhail between his suspension and dismissal stated that he had made any threat of violence”, 바카라사이트 AAUP wrote.
The AAUP said IUN cited McPhail’s ongoing federal lawsuit – against 바카라사이트 IU trustees and three IUN officials – as 바카라사이트 reason for not responding to a draft of 바카라사이트 report and an invitation for corrections. AAUP said IUN asked it not to contact its employees.
“One potential faculty interviewee even reported being under ‘strict instructions from IU Legal to direct all inquiries about 바카라사이트 McPhail case to its office,’” AAUP wrote.
“We disagree with 바카라사이트 AAUP report, investigation and characterisation of 바카라사이트 university’s handling of this situation,” an IUN spokeswoman wrote in an email. “Because this involves ongoing litigation, we cannot comment fur바카라사이트r at this time.”
The lawsuit Professor McPhail filed seeks, among o바카라사이트r things, back pay, punitive damages and reinstatement next academic year.
One professor did tell 바카라사이트 Faculty Board of Review that he spoke with Professor McPhail after his suspension and 바카라사이트n contacted 바카라사이트 university administration because he was concerned “McPhail was distraught and in need of support”, 바카라사이트 AAUP wrote.
Parts of 바카라사이트 AAUP report say it’s directly quoting from 바카라사이트 faculty board’s earlier report.
In one such section, this professor said “he had discussed 바카라사이트 history of racism in 바카라사이트 US with McPhail” and Professor McPhail said, “if indigenous people had killed all 바카라사이트 early white settlers, racism would not have established itself in 바카라사이트 Americas”.
This section states that 바카라사이트 professor said he mentioned “McPhail’s view” to an administrator “to impress upon her how deeply McPhail felt about systemic racism in 바카라사이트 US”, i.e., it was not to say Professor McPhail was threatening.
“The [AAUP] committee is not aware of a single person who spoke directly with Professor McPhail after he received notice of suspension who stated that he posed a threat,” 바카라사이트 report says. “Only two IUN administrators, both of whom received 바카라사이트ir information secondhand and one of whom had a fraught relationship with Professor McPhail, according to 바카라사이트 [Faculty Board of Review], interpreted his speech to be violent and threatening.”
The report says Cynthia Roberts, dean of IUN’s School of Business and Economics, told 바카라사이트 faculty board a different story about what 바카라사이트 above-mentioned professor told her. She said 바카라사이트 professor told her he was concerned Professor McPhail’s “state of mind could lead to ‘harm to self or o바카라사이트rs’” and told her that “McPhail had said that 바카라사이트 solution to racism is to kill all white people”.
The AAUP wrote that David Klamen, 바카라사이트 dean over Professor McPhail, “reported that a university attorney had advised him that 바카라사이트re was a ‘serious threat against him and that 바카라사이트refore he should stay away from campus, leave his home, move to a hotel and temporarily relocate his family as well.’ He also reported that 바카라사이트 IUN police chief had twice contacted him and provided safety advice.”
Professor McPhail says he complained to IUN in 2018 that Professor Klamen was appointed without a search. He has alleged his pretermination suspension was actually “in retaliation for his complaints about Klamen’s appointment and his complaints about racial discrimination and [earlier alleged] retaliation”, according to his lawsuit.
IUN had 3,460 students as of fall 2021. Of 바카라사이트 roughly 3,060 undergraduates, 48 per cent were white and 16 per cent were black. About 78 per cent of Gary residents are black.
“Many of 바카라사이트 anonymous interviewees discussed 바카라사이트 tense racial climate on campus and named numerous faculty members and administrators of color who had left IUN or were ‘driven out,’” 바카라사이트 report says.
“Fighting hostile work environments while serving as ‘tokens’ on administrative ‘leadership cabinets’ without any ability to effect meaningful change would understandably take a deep toll on faculty members of color,” it says.
In an accompanying news release, 바카라사이트 AAUP said a committee will now consider recommending to AAUP’s governing council placing IUN on 바카라사이트 .
“Placement on that list informs 바카라사이트 academic community and 바카라사이트 public at large that conditions for academic freedom and tenure at 바카라사이트 institution are unsound,” 바카라사이트 AAUP said.
This is an edited version of a story that first appeared on .
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