John Jameson: Kent State history department chair ousted
John Jameson said Thursday his ouster as chair of the Kent State University history department earlier this month and the means by which it was done disrupts the learning process and "rips asunder a pretty good history department."
KSU and Jerry Feezel, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, assert Jameson was removed from his post for violating written university policy by improperly granting academic study leave to a controversial KSU history professor.
Jameson, who remains a full professor of history, was notified Nov. 7 that he was being removed as department chair in an e-mail sent by Feezel. Feezel said Jameson failed to go through him in requesting mid-semester leave for associate history professor Julio Assad Pino.
Jameson said Pino came to him earlier in the fall semester seeking six weeks of leave to study Arabic in the United Arab Emirates because his research is on black Muslim slaves brought to Brazil.
"A lot of their sources are in Arabic, so again he's immersing himself in that culture," Jameson said. "It's a legitimate research project, and could be an exciting project."
Department chair for the last 10 years and self-described as having the support of a majority of history professors, Jameson said Pino had figured out how to cover his classes for the six-week leave. Pino already was overseas before Feezel, who said he and the provost's office had no idea Pino was away, e-mailed him and told him to return to KSU or else risk losing his paycheck.
Feezel said he was away at a conference when he learned Pino had left campus and said he e-mailed both Jameson and Pino because he believed the matter should be dealt with immediately. Notice would have been given by e-mail for records purposes anyway, he said....
Read entire article at http://www.recordpub.com/
KSU and Jerry Feezel, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, assert Jameson was removed from his post for violating written university policy by improperly granting academic study leave to a controversial KSU history professor.
Jameson, who remains a full professor of history, was notified Nov. 7 that he was being removed as department chair in an e-mail sent by Feezel. Feezel said Jameson failed to go through him in requesting mid-semester leave for associate history professor Julio Assad Pino.
Jameson said Pino came to him earlier in the fall semester seeking six weeks of leave to study Arabic in the United Arab Emirates because his research is on black Muslim slaves brought to Brazil.
"A lot of their sources are in Arabic, so again he's immersing himself in that culture," Jameson said. "It's a legitimate research project, and could be an exciting project."
Department chair for the last 10 years and self-described as having the support of a majority of history professors, Jameson said Pino had figured out how to cover his classes for the six-week leave. Pino already was overseas before Feezel, who said he and the provost's office had no idea Pino was away, e-mailed him and told him to return to KSU or else risk losing his paycheck.
Feezel said he was away at a conference when he learned Pino had left campus and said he e-mailed both Jameson and Pino because he believed the matter should be dealt with immediately. Notice would have been given by e-mail for records purposes anyway, he said....