I’ve written earlier about University of Michigan faculty member John Cheney-Lippold, an associate professor of American Culture who refused to write a letter of recommendation for an undergraduate who wanted to study in Israel. (To be precise, he first agreed but then reneged when he found the letter was for an Israeli program. Cheney-Lippold is a supporter of the anti-Semitic BDS program.) My view was that once Cheney-Lippold had agreed to write a letter—and it would have been a positive one judging by his offer to recommend the student for other programs—he was bound, as a professional duty, to write a supportive letter. His politics aren’t supposed to impede the careers of his students.

I offered that opinion in an email sent to the President of the University of Michigan, to Cheney-Lippold’s chair, and to the several trustees of the University of Michigan. I did not ask that Cheney-Lippold be fired, but rather that the University clarify that a professor’s political opinions should not play a role in whether a student should get a letter of recommendation. So far I haven’t heard back, except for a lame response from Cheney-Lippold’s chair (see below).

Inside Higher Ed (IHE) gives some newer responses to this controversy. The first is the University of Michigan’s own statement, which they then changed, supposedly on grounds of brevity (what a crock!). My emphasis on this IHE report:

The University of Michigan, for its part, issued a statement affirming its opposition to the boycott of Israeli academic institutions, and clarifying that no academic department or unit has taken a stance in support of it.

“Injecting personal politics into a decision regarding support for our students is counter to our values and expectations as an institution,” the university said in a statement issued Tuesday. An earlier statement from the university described the faculty member’s decision as “disappointing,” but that language was removed from the subsequent statement, which a spokesman said was revised for purposes of concision.

Does anybody believe that “concision” excuse?

Then of course professors were interviewed, and of course their views differed, with the Israel-hating ones saying that Cheney-Lippold’s decision was fine. On my part, I would have written a letter had a student asked me to study in Palestine (given, of course, that I could have positively recommended the student on academic grounds). A reader asked me if I would have written a recommendation for a student to work with the Templeton Foundation, which I loathe. My answer was, “Of course!”. To me it’s not a matter of freedom of speech, or of academic freedom, but of professional duty: helping and mentoring your students.

While the American Association of University Professors, which opposes academic boycotts like the BDS movement, didn’t issue an official statement, some of its members gave their opinion, all opposing what Cheney-Lippold did. IHE reports:

“In general, AAUP policy does not address whether faculty are obligated to write letters of reference,” said Hans-Joerg Tiede, the associate secretary of the AAUP’s Department of Academic Freedom, Tenure and Governance. “I think that it’s generally understood that writing such letters falls within the professional duties of faculty members. I also think that it’s generally understood that faculty members may decline to write a particular letter in particular instances, for example, because they believe that they have insufficient information on which to base such a letter. In general, refusing to write a letter of reference on grounds that are discriminatory would appear to be at odds with the AAUP’s Statement on Professional Ethics.”

John K. Wilson, the co-editor of the AAUP’s blog, “Academe,” said, “Writing a letter of recommendation is not like teaching a class; it is a voluntary activity, and not a necessary part of one’s academic work. Professors are given broad discretion to decide how, and if, to write a letter. And they can decline if they think the opportunity is not in the best interests of the student, even if the student disagrees.”

“However, I think it is morally wrong for professors to impose their political views on student letters of recommendation.” Wilson stressed however, that the professor should not be punished. “If a professor was systematically refusing to write letters of recommendation because they are time-consuming and unrewarded in academia, it might be appropriate for colleagues to judge it as a small mark against them on the service criterion. But a singular case like this certainly should not be punished in any way,” he said.

Cary Nelson, a former AAUP president and an opponent of the movement to boycott Israeli academic institutions, argued on the other hand that the professor could be punished. “What the professor did violated the student’s academic freedom — the right to apply to study at any program anywhere in the world,” said Nelson, a professor emeritus of English and Jewish culture and society at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Nelson said he believes it is a violation of professional ethics for a professor to decline to write a letter for a student on the basis of politics. A faculty member has the right not to write a recommendation, but not based on political objections to the university or nation in which the student is interested in studying, or the student’s own politics, Nelson argued.

I agree with all of these people, including about the lack of punishment. IHE also got dissenting statements from those who participate in boycotts of Israel. You can read their pathetic rationalizations for yourself, but here’s one:

Reflecting a different view, David Klein, a professor of mathematics at California State University, Northridge, and a member of the organizing collective of the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, argued it was the professor’s prerogative not to write the letter. Klein, who opposes study abroad programming in Israel, said he agreed with Cheney-Lippold’s decision.

“First of all, a professor has a right to decline a request to write a letter of recommendation under any circumstances: that’s a choice a professor makes about a student and a goal. In this case I think it’s the ethical thing to do. The study abroad program for Israel is really a propaganda program to legitimize the apartheid system in Israel and I think it’s proper for a professor to object to participate in that,” Klein said.

Once someone starts using the words “apartheid state” with respect to Israel, while ignoring the much greater “apartheid-ness” of Palestine (actually, I don’t like the use of that word outside the topic of South Africa), you know they’ve jumped the shark. If any state is an apartheid state, it’s the Palestinian territories, but of course these mushbrained Lefties ignore that.

But enough. Here’s the tepid response to the letter I wrote(see it here) from Cheney-Lippold’s chair, Alexandra Stern. Note that my letter already said that the University of Michigan and its departments do not have positions on divestment. apparently Dr. Stern not read what I wrote:

Dear Dr. Coyne:

 

Thank you for your message.