Outspoken Political Scientist Denied Tenure at DePaul

[kurth]

Outspoken Political Scientist Denied Tenure at DePaul
By PATRICIA COHEN
Published: June 11, 2007

Norman Finkelstein, the political scientist whose bid for a permanent position at DePaul University stirred up charges of anti-Semitism, personal vendettas and outside interference in the hiring process, was informed Friday that he had been denied tenure by the university.

Mr. Finkelstein said he clearly “met the publishing standards and the teaching standards required for tenure” and that DePaul’s decision was based on “transparently political grounds” and an “egregious violation” of academic freedom.

DePaul’s political science department had voted to award Mr. Finkelstein tenure, but the University Board on Promotion and Tenure rejected his bid. DePaul’s president, the Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, upheld that decision. In a letter to Mr. Finkelstein, Father Holtschneider wrote that Mr. Finkelstein is an excellent teacher and a nationally recognized public intellectual but does not “honor the obligation” to “respect and defend the free inquiry of associates.”

Mr. Finkelstein’s work, accusing Jews of exploiting the Holocaust for monetary gain and attacking Israel for oppressing the Palestinians, has made Mr. Finkelstein many enemies over the years. One of the most dogged has been Alan Dershowitz, the attorney and Harvard law professor whose impassioned defense of Israel has led to frequent and often venomous conflicts with Mr. Finkelstein. In a full-court press against Mr. Finkelstein, Mr. Dershowitz lobbied professors, alumni and the administration of DePaul, a Roman Catholic university in Chicago, to deny him tenure. Many faculty members at DePaul and elsewhere decried what they called Mr. Dershowitz’s heavy-handed tactics...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/arts/11depa.html

[Kagemusha]

1. Wow, and Alan even found time to lobby for Scooter Libby.

That's one busy man.