Professor Burrows' statement, that we must suspend judgment in this matter until the college releases exculpatory evidence for their position makes a mockery of our academic duty to seek out the truth, and doing so in a forum visited by students neglects the pedagogical duty of an academic institution. In fact, it is reminiscent of the US government's insistence, during the Vietnam War, that the war was winnable, and that forthcoming evidence would bear that "truth" out.
In seeking the truth, we must evaluate all evidence provided by those willing to provide it, and conjecture that for which evidence is being withheld. Had Professor Johnson failed to vigorously challenge the actions of the Promotion and Tenure Committee, there is no doubt that "all the evidence" would never have been produced, as is the practice of personnel committees. The claim that we should accept, on faith, that evidence exists which would "clear the good names and reputations" of those who have denied tenure to Professor Johnson, defies credibility.
In evaluating the evidence available to the Student Government, including published accounts of the situation, a memorandum Professor Johnson has provided, the repeated refusal of Professors to defend their actions (including Professor Thomas' statement that he had nothing to say regarding his published comment that Brooklyn College students are "barely literate" and need to be "cuddled."), the Student Government has found that the evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of Professor Johnson's "tale of persecution." Further, we believe that the decidedly weak argument that waiting for the evidence will bear out the truth of their claims (likely more a pacifistic delay tactic than a true attempt to promote the search for truth), is specious and not representative of the facts.
In keeping with the above, the CLAS (day) Student Government has passed a unanimous resolution to "condemn the actions of the Promotion and Tenure Committee" in relation to the decision to deny Professor Johnson tenure. The SGS (night) government has passed a unanimous resolution with nearly identical wording (simply replacing CLAS with SGS in most cases).
Any suggestion that few students support Professor Johnson is simply factually false, but supporters of Professor Burrows' position have been perpetuating that view. So much for the search for the truth.
The resolution passed by the CLAS Student Government follows.
-- Yehuda Katz
Chief of Staff to the President, CLAS Student Government
----
PRESIDENTIAL JOINT RESOLUTION
OF
THE CLAS STUDENT GOVERNMENT
FOR THE FORTY-SIXTH ASSEMBLY
Introduced by the President (Ms. Abraham)
A RESOLUTION
to condemn the actions of the Promotion and Tenure Committee, and the subsequent upholding of those actions by President Kimmich.
Be it resolved by the Assembly, and the President, as follows:
WHEREAS, Professor Robert David "KC" Johnson is an accomplished scholar, and has written three books, and multiple papers; and
WHEREAS, the CLAS Student Government constitution states, "nor shall any person be denied admission to Brooklyn College or its campus, nor be dismissed or denied employment on account of his/her ideas or beliefs"; and
WHEREAS, the CLAS Student Government constitution states, "every student has the right to quality education"; and
WHEREAS, the CUNY bylaws state that tenure decisions should be based upon the candidate possessing "an established reputation for excellence in teaching and scholarship in his/her discipline"; and
WHEREAS, Professor Robert David "KC" Johnson has been denied tenure, according to the college, for reasons of "collegiality," including the claim that he has waived prerequisites, disagreed with a department search that seemed predetermined to hire a woman, and disagreed with what he called a one-sided event that followed the events on September 11; and
WHEREAS, the CLAS Student Government believes that as part of the right to a quality education, tenure decisions should be made in accordance with the written standards of the bylaws, and that the opinions solicited during the tenure process should include the full gamut of opinions available; and
WHEREAS, the CLAS Student Government believes that the tenure process followed in the case of Professor Robert David "KC" Johnson did not meet that standard; and
WHEREAS, President Kimmich stated, in a Kingsman article, that he would not overturn the actions of the Promotion and Tenure Committee if he concluded that "the process functions well"; and
WHEREAS, the process clearly did not function well; therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, that the CLAS Student Government strongly disagrees with the process followed by the various committees involved in the tenure of Professor Robert David "KC" Johnson; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the CLAS Student Government believes that the flawed process followed in this tenure case
violates Section 1 and Section 9 of the Bill of Rights outlined in the CLAS Student Government Constitution; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the CLAS Student Government calls upon President Kimmich to reverse his decision with regards to this tenure decision; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the CLAS Student Government affirms its commitment to a quality education and a tenure process that grants tenure of the basis of academic quality, at Brooklyn College; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the CLAS Student Government may pass additional legislation in the future to ensure that the rights of the students in this matter are not violated; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the CLAS Student Government, seeing this denial of tenure as a larger pattern of abuse and violation of students' rights, affirms its commitment to enforcing the Student Bill of Rights in the CLAS Student Government Constitution.
I hereby certify that the forgoing resolution is a true and accurate copy of a resolution passed by unanimous vote of the CLAS Student Government Assembly.
Phil Goldfeder, Speaker, CLAS Student Government Assembly
I hereby approve the forgoing resolution, and certify that it is a true and accurate copy of s Presidential Joint resolution.
Yael Abraham, President, CLAS Student Government
I hereby certify that the forgoing Presidential Joint Resolution, numbered P.J. 46-6, is the true and accurate copy of Presidential Joint Resolution 46-6, that it was approved by unanimous vote of the CLAS Student Government Assembly, and signed by the President of the CLAS Student Government.
Clerk, CLAS Student Government Assembly
by Yehuda Katz on November 27, 2002 at 6:09 PM