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May. 19th, 2004 07:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pearwaldorfSo after my last post on Dr. Nytagodien's possible termination, there was a meeting with President Bernstine today.
It was very interesting, in light of the Provost's resignation and subsequent sabbatical, which another faculty member said might have something to do with what happened, but probably not all. So basically there was a lot of bombast and progressive wankiness mixed in with genuine student support for Ridwan. From what I can tell, the motivation for his termination was purely political, as I am pretty sure he meets all three requirements (teaching, research, and service to the community). According to President Bernstine, one would hope that the political infighting and animosity would be weeded out by this time in the tenure-granting process, but apparently that isn't exactly the case. And here is where I need to get into a wee bit of backstory.
A few years back apparently, a bunch of old codgers in various departments, including poli sci, decided that racism wasn't a relevant issue at the university anymore. I believe Dr. Nytagodien was one of only a few professors to oppose this stance, and some of the people who he offended are on the tenure committee. In addition, Ridwan has kind of a... reputation among some people in the administration for being a bit of a firebrand. (All of you who know him may now laugh.) He is a man of strong convictions, and that gets him in trouble with people who might not agree with some of the things he posits. One of those people is probably the head of the Black Studies department, which is an unfortunate sort of thing, especially when he was one of the people who recommended the termination. Cody thinks that Dr. A is afraid that Ridwan's reputation as a bit of a radical will scare people away from black studies, but I think his presence will most definitely attract them.
I don't know what President Bernstine's decision will be, as the tenure committee drags its feet at the best of times, and he's said that he hasn't gotten a look at the file at all yet. But I get the impression that he is a politically astute sort of person, and it would be really stupid to deny Dr. Nytagodien tenure when he's got all his required bases covered. Not to mention the fact that there are quite a few people who will vote with their feet and their money if he goes. And I really don't blame them. For all that PSU is trying to make itself into a world class university (replete with young freshmen hipsters going here because Portland has a "scene" now, wtf?), he's too good for this place, and he knows it.
It was very interesting, in light of the Provost's resignation and subsequent sabbatical, which another faculty member said might have something to do with what happened, but probably not all. So basically there was a lot of bombast and progressive wankiness mixed in with genuine student support for Ridwan. From what I can tell, the motivation for his termination was purely political, as I am pretty sure he meets all three requirements (teaching, research, and service to the community). According to President Bernstine, one would hope that the political infighting and animosity would be weeded out by this time in the tenure-granting process, but apparently that isn't exactly the case. And here is where I need to get into a wee bit of backstory.
A few years back apparently, a bunch of old codgers in various departments, including poli sci, decided that racism wasn't a relevant issue at the university anymore. I believe Dr. Nytagodien was one of only a few professors to oppose this stance, and some of the people who he offended are on the tenure committee. In addition, Ridwan has kind of a... reputation among some people in the administration for being a bit of a firebrand. (All of you who know him may now laugh.) He is a man of strong convictions, and that gets him in trouble with people who might not agree with some of the things he posits. One of those people is probably the head of the Black Studies department, which is an unfortunate sort of thing, especially when he was one of the people who recommended the termination. Cody thinks that Dr. A is afraid that Ridwan's reputation as a bit of a radical will scare people away from black studies, but I think his presence will most definitely attract them.
I don't know what President Bernstine's decision will be, as the tenure committee drags its feet at the best of times, and he's said that he hasn't gotten a look at the file at all yet. But I get the impression that he is a politically astute sort of person, and it would be really stupid to deny Dr. Nytagodien tenure when he's got all his required bases covered. Not to mention the fact that there are quite a few people who will vote with their feet and their money if he goes. And I really don't blame them. For all that PSU is trying to make itself into a world class university (replete with young freshmen hipsters going here because Portland has a "scene" now, wtf?), he's too good for this place, and he knows it.
