April 2000
The Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship is gravely concerned
about the threat to academic freedom and the merit principle that is implied
by some recent remarks by Dean Robert Birgeneau of MIT. Dr. Birgeneau is
president-designate of the University of Toronto and is due to take up
office on July 1 of this year. The two remarks occurred on two separate
visits by president-designate Birgeneau to Toronto when he met with U.
of T. administrators.
One remark, reported in the Toronto Star, January 9, was that
he told U. of T. administrators that “if they did not share his views on
diversity, they may as well step down.” The other remark, reported in the Star, February 8, not only appeared to repeat the threat, but extended
its scope to include “anyone in a leadership position” who, Birgeneau was
reported to have said, “can find something else to do.” President-designate
Birgeneau was reported to have stated in a later interview (National
Post, February 26) that he had been “misrepresented,” but has not specifically
stated in what respects these misrepresentations occurred.
Especially as there is a wide range of legitimate views on “diversity”
and “equity,” without further clarification on his part, Dr. Birgeneau’s
remarks are deeply disturbing. They at least suggest an intention on his
part to run one of Canada’s leading universities with a degree of imposed
conformity that is incompatible with a genuine institution of higher education,
as well as being inconsistent with the Canadian Association of University
Teachers (CAUT) principles on academic freedom. Those CAUT principles explicitly
include “freedom to criticize the university” and “freedom from institutional
censorship.” SAFS therefore protests the serious threat to academic freedom
implied by his remarks, and urges him either to withdraw them or to clarify
how they are compatible with freedom from institutional censorship, a cornerstone
of Canadian academic life.
SAFS Board of Directors
March 7, 2000
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