September 9, 2016
Dear Dr, Cline
I am urging you
to end the lock out of LIU faculty on its Brooklyn campus which, in my
judgment, represents the worst attack of faculty rights and governance
by a university administration in my lifetime,
I say this as
a scholar and teacher with a long and deep attachment to Long Island
University. I have lectured at the University on numerous occasions,
taught courses in its honors program, have mentored some of its students
and am close friends with several distinguished scholars and teachers
on its faculty, among them Professor John Ehrenberg and Professor Jose
Sanchez. In my experience, the faculty at LIU Brooklyn campus are some
of the most talented and dedicated teachers I have ever met, people who
are deeply committed to educating the largely working class, first
generation college students LIU attracts. Many of them had opportunities
to teach at other universities serving a more affluent population, but
were committed to LIU's mission to serving first and second generation
immigrants and students of color.
It is quite simply appalling
to see your office decide, in the midst of labor negotiations of a kind
that take place in almost every university in the nation, to lock them
out of their office, cut off their emails, and stop paying their health
insurance. Rest assure that this action will, when it is publicized
provoke the outrage of college faculty around the nation, as well as
elected officials, union leaders, and social justice activists in New
York City and New York State. I, for one, will be raising the alarm
among all these groups until this lockout is ended
This
lockout is an attack on every faculty member who believes in teaching
under served populations, as well as on the labor rights of all working
people in New York City and New York State.
I strongly urge
you to end the lock out now, before your own reputation, and the
reputation of your University, are permanently damaged
Sincerely,
Mark D Naison
Professor of African American Studies and History
Fordham University
cc. Honorable Betty Rosa, Chair, New York State Board of Regents
Father Joseph McShane, President, Fordham University
Randi Weingarten, President. American Federation of Teachers
Dr. Diane Ravitch, Professor Emeritus, New York University
Dr. John Ehrenaberg, Professor of Political Science, Long Island University
Dr. Anne Fernald, President, Faculty Senate, Fordham University
John Mogulescu, Dean of School of Professiona Studies, City University of New York
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3 comments:
When lockouts become your labor strategy then you lose all rights to calling your self an instituion of higher learning. You are now an instituion of democracy destruction.
I stand with my LIU brothers and sisters,
Dr. Jesse Patrick Turner
Professor of Literacy, Elementary, and Early Childhood Education
Central Connecticut State University
Thank you for supporting us! This is well said we are all devastated at LIU Brooklyn. It is us, the students that are being strongly impacted by the lockout! Our futures are at jeopardy, we need the lockout to end immediately.
This is horrible!!! Please let me know, what else can we do?
I am a graduate student, with 2 semesters to go, and the president does not seem to care about the future of the students
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