Category Archives: Commentary

Mark Leff (1949-2015) In Memoriam

by James R. Barrett (History) Mark Leff passed away on February 22, 2015, surrounded by his family. One of the finest human beings I have encountered anywhere, he happened also to be one of the most talented and dedicated teachers, most treasured colleagues, and most astute scholars and this underscores the sense of loss amongContinue reading “Mark Leff (1949-2015) In Memoriam”

Where We Are Now

Dear CFA Members and supporters: As the end of the semester draws near, and after three turbulent months, CFA wants to reflect on where we as a faculty are now, and how a faculty union could make a difference.   We face the following persistent problems. Board of Trustees (BOT) Overreach:  In the last year, theContinue reading “Where We Are Now”

James Kilgore May Teach: Now What?

It’s good news that the Board of Trustees has backed-away from its banning of James Kilgore. Organized faculty, especially The Friends of James Kilgore (many of whom are active CFA members) kept the issue before the Administration and the Board, with demonstrations, speeches, letters, petitions and press conferences.  It was an amazing show of activismContinue reading “James Kilgore May Teach: Now What?”

Academic Freedom and the Board of Trustees at the University of Illinois: A Historical Perspective

by Belden Fields At the IPRH panel on “Academic Freedom and Free Speech across Disciplines” held at the Beckman Institute on Monday, September 29, one of the panelists Prof. Colleen Murphy said that the faculty’s effort now must be to see that the way Professor Steven Salaita was treated by the university never happens again.Continue reading “Academic Freedom and the Board of Trustees at the University of Illinois: A Historical Perspective”

Faculty matters: Before, during, and beyond the Salaita case

(Originally published in the Daily Illini on 9/15/14) The Board of Trustees’ unfavorable vote against Steven Salaita’s job offer of a tenured associate professor position at our institution has diminished the academic integrity of the promotion and tenure review process at the University. Consequently, my main concern over last week’s official resolution of Salaita’s caseContinue reading “Faculty matters: Before, during, and beyond the Salaita case”

A Letter from Robert Warrior

To my fellow members of the Campus Faculty Association and other colleagues at Illinois and beyond, As American Indian Studies has been responding to unprecedented actions from the Board of Trustees, Chancellor Phyllis Wise, President Robert Easter, and Vice President for Academic Affairs Christophe Pierre in our hiring of Steven Salaita as a tenured AssociateContinue reading “A Letter from Robert Warrior”

Shared Governance and the Salaita Case

Originally posted on ACADEME BLOG:
I spoke on a podcast, This Week at InsideHigherEd, about the Salaita case, along with former Barnard president Judith Shapiro, who argued that the Salaita case indicated the need for more shared governance. I would argue that the Salaita case is a good reason to understand what shared governance really means.…

A Letter to Chancellor Wise from Professor Michael Rothberg, August 17, 2014

We link to an excellent letter to UIUC Chancellor Phyllis Wise from Michael Rothberg, Head of the Department of English.  Prof. Rothberg is also Director of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies Initiative and a Conrad Humanities Scholar. From 2003-2009 he was Director of Illinois’s Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory. His website is here.  

Job Offer Letter Found in Swanlund Dumpster

Dear Alma, While rooting around in a dumpster outside Swanlund, I found what appears to be a new template for job offer letters. Do you think the Chancellor’s office could be contemplating something like this?  Read on and tell me what you think. Dumpsta Dyvva ______________________________________________________ Dear Dr. _______ Congratulations! You may already be aContinue reading “Job Offer Letter Found in Swanlund Dumpster”