Chancellor Phyllis M. Wise said the issues highlighted in a recommendation by an American Association of University Professors committee to censure the U. of I. already have been or currently are being addressed by campus and faculty leaders.
“I think we have made significant changes for the better,” she told members of the Senate Executive Committee at the May 28 meeting, anticipating a ruling against the university.
The AAUP announced May 30 that Committee A, its committee on academic freedom and tenure, had found violations of both during the hiring process of Steven Salaita. In 2013, Salaita was picked to fill a tenured faculty position in American Indian Studies, but his hiring was not supported by the chancellor or approved by the U. of I.
Board of Trustees after his controversial comments on social media surfaced.
The committee report says the U. of I. violated AAUP guidelines, as well as university rules, during the Salaita incident “and cast a pall of uncertainty over the degree to which academic freedom is understood and respected.”
Wise said she has taken responsibility for missteps in failing to consult more appropriately with college and department faculty leaders, and that the university already has worked to cast that pall aside.
“I take great pride in being a consultative leader,” Wise told SEC members. “(With Salaita), I did not follow my own natural principles of leadership.”
Since then, Wise said several steps had been taken to address the concerns of campus constituents and those raised by the AAUP.
Among those steps have been several policy changes more clearly defining the campus hiring process, clarification of the chancellor’s statement on civility and a legitimate effort to settle with Salaita, who is suing the university over the incident.
She said the university would continue to work hard to remove the censure moniker and prove to everyone beyond a doubt that the U. of I. has “a longstanding commitment to the principles of academic freedom and freedom of speech.”
“We are disappointed to be the subject of an AAUP censure vote, and we will continue to move forward by demonstrating our commitment to the principles of academic freedom,” she said.
Nick Burbules, a professor and member of the SEC, said he is confident the efforts made by Wise and campus leaders to improve processes would lead to a lifting of the censure and prevent a repeat situation in the future.
He said the board of trustees also may need to consider clarifying its statement on civility before the censure is lifted. He said having a new president at the helm is an opportunity to start with a clean slate.
