A statement by concerned Indiana University Bloomington faculty | |
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As faculty members of Indiana University, we are deeply troubled by the angry and sometimes violent response of some IU students and some members of the local community to the firing of Mr. Robert Knight as head coach of the IU basketball team.
Indiana University is an institution of higher education. Students who come here engage in various activities. Some play basketball. Some play music. Some enjoy attending ball games. Some enjoy attending concerts. But all students who come here come here to learn. Indiana University is about education. It is not about basketball. Indiana University is a university. It is not a playground, nor is it a professional sports team. Recreational activities and competitive athletics have a place at any university . But they are not what defines a university. All who have followed the Knight saga in recent years know that, at the very least, Coach Knight’s behavior has been on many occasions inappropriate and on some occasions even violent. The incivility evidenced on those occasions is inappropriate behavior for a faculty member of any university. President Myles Brand and the IU administration bent over backwards to clarify rules that should have been self-evident, and to remedy the situation so as to allow Coach Knight to remain in his job. But by all appea rances Coach Knight was either unwilling or unable to abide by these rules. After the most recent infraction—the inappropriate grabbing by Coach Knight of an IU freshman—President Brand had no choice but to fire Coach Knight. This is an unpopular decision for some. Coach Knight is popular on campus, and many IU students are fans of the basketball team. But Coach Knight’s abusive behavior to students, staff and administration was simply unacceptable. And too much negative attention has been focused on IU b ecause of this pattern of uncivil behavior. The behavior had become, simply, intolerable. If Coach Knight had been allowed to continue after the most recent incident, the university—and not simply President Brand—would have lost all credibility as an inst itution of higher learning. President Brand acted as he did because Indiana University is not a basketball school. It is a university, and it demands certain standards of conduct from its faculty and staff. Those who are unhappy about the firing of Coach Knight have every right to be unhappy and to express their dissatisfaction. But they do not have the right to destroy university property, to intimidate and harass those with whom they disagree, to issue thr eats against the five students who came forth about the latest incident, against President Brand or against any other IU official. And calls for the death of these people are beyond wrong. They are positively grotesque. Indiana University is a place to study, to learn and to teach. It is a place where people come to grow as individuals and as citizens. The mob mentality evidenced in the past few days is hostile to everything for which this university, and indeed any univ ersity, stands. As faculty members, we condemn the vandalism and the threats. We call upon all students to similarly demand an end to the intimidation. People may disagree about the fate of Coach Knight, but we hope that all of us can agree that a university requires rules and certain standards of civility. Acts of physical intimidation and vandalism have no place on our campus or in our community. < br> Signed by: Jeffrey C. Isaac, James Rudy Professor of political science Michael Gordon, professor of music Robert Orsi, professor of religious studies Douglas Hofstadter, Distinguished Professor of computer science Karen Hanson, professor and chair of philosophy Robert Ivie, professor and chair of communication and culture Charles Bonser, dean and professor emeritus, School of Public and Environmental Affairs Tim Tilton, professor of political science Albert Ruesink, professor of biology John Efron, associate professor of history Purnima Bose, assistant professor of English Maria Bucur, assistant professor of history Jeffrey Gould, professor of history James Perry, Chancellor’s Professor of public and environmental affairs Roger Parks, professor of public and environmental affairs Richard Bauman, Distinguished Professor of folklore and communication and culture Jane Goodman, assistant professor of communication and culture John Louis Lucaites, associate professor of communication and culture Scott Sanders, Distinguished Professor of English Jeffrey Hart, professor and chair of political science Albert Wertheim, professor of English Jean C. Robinson, dean for women’s affairs, associate professor of political science Stephen Katz, associate professor of Near Eastern languages and cultures Robert Huckfeldt, Endowed Professor of political science and human studies Judith Failer, assistant professor of political science and American studies Gerald Larson, professor of religious studies, director of India studies James Naremore, Chancellor’s Professor of communication and culture, English Paul Eisenberg, professor of philosophy Dror Wahrman, associate professor of history Jim Sherman, professor of psychology Ronald Hites, Distinguished Professor of public and environmental affairs Maura Stanton, professor of English George Hutchinson, professor of English Mary Ellen Brown, professor of folklore David Wojahn, professor of English Patrick Brantlinger, professor of English Tony Ardizzone, professor of English Richard Cecil, professor of English John Schilb, professor of English Al David, professor emeritus of English Terence Martin, professor emeritus of English Linda Charnes, associate professor of English Jeffrey Huntsman, associate professor of English John Eakin, professor of English Murray McGibbon, assistant professor of theatre and drama Nicholas Williams, associate professor of English Mary Favret, associate professor of English Jonathan Elmer, associate professor of English Frank Vilardo, associate professor of public and environmental affairs Jacek Dalecki, lecturer, political science Kerry Krutilla, associate professor of public and environmental affairs Richard Stryker, associate professor of political science and executive associate dean, International Programs Bruce Solomon, associate professor of mathematics Robert S. Kravchuk, associate professor of public and environmental affairs Mike McGregor, professor of telecommunications Jack Bielasiak, professor of political science Chris Judge. assistant professor of mathematics Orville Powell, clinical associate professor, public and environmental affairs Allan Edmonds, professor of mathematics Roopali Mukherjee, assistant professor of communication and culture Craig L. Johnson, associate professor, public and environmental affairs Jeffrey White, professor of environmental sciences Michael Hamburger, professor of geological sciences Harry Geduld, professor of comparative literature Maryellen Bieder, professor of Spanish Matthew Auer, assistant professor of public and environmental affairs David Ransel, professor of history, director of Russian and East European Institute Peter Sternberg, professor of mathematics Alvin Rosenfeld, professor of English Donald Gray, professor emeritus of English Milton Taylor, professor of biology Oscar Kenshur, professor of comparative literature Beverly Stoeltje, associate professor of folklore and of communication and culture Philip Stevens, assistant professor of public and environmental affairs Roger Innes, professor of biology Roger Hangarter, associate professor of biology Dennis Senchuk, associate professor of philosophy J.C. Randolph, professor of public and environmental affairs Anil Gupta, Rudy Professor of philosophy Val Nolan Jr., professor emeritus of law and biology Ellen D. Ketterson, professor of biology Diane Henshel, professor of public and environmental affairs John Walbridge, associate professor of Near Eastern languages and culture Eugene Eoyang, professor of comparative literature Peter Cherbas, professor of biology Michael Dunn, Ewing Professor of philosophy Joseph J. Gajewski, professor of chemistry John S. Applegate, professor of law, John S. Hastings Faculty Fellow David E. Boeyink, professor of journalism Noretta Koertge, professor emerita of history and philosophy of science Joelle Bahloul, associate professor of Jewish studies and anthropology David Smith, professor of religious studies and director of the Poynter Center Bozena Shallcross, associate professor of Slavic studies Tom Gieryn, Rudy Professor of sociology Bill Johnston, assistant professor of TESOL, applied linguistics Mike Tansey, associate professor of biology Ed Comentale, assistant professor of English Alyce Miller, associate professor of English Rob Fulk, professor of English Larry Clopper, professor of English Timothy Wiles, associate professor of English Joss Marsh, associate professor of English John Woodcock, professor of English Judith Anderson, professor of English Lewis H. Miller, professor of English Eva Cherniavsky, associate professor of English, director, American studies Charles Forker, professor emeritus of English Karma Lochrie, professor of English Laura Yow, assistant professor of English Dewitt Kilgore, assistant professor of English Christoph Lohmann, professor emeritus of English Steven Ashby, assistant professor of labor studies Peter Boerner, professor emeritus of German studies Abhijit Basu, professor of geological sciences Simon Brassell, professor of geological sciences Enrique Merino, professor of geological sciences Albert J. Rudman, professor emeritus of geophysics Arndt Schimmelmann, senior research scientist, geological sciences Joan B. Lauer, associate professor of psychology Hannah Buxbaum, professor of law F. Thomas Schornhorst, professor emeritus of law Kenneth Dau-Schmidt, professor of law Ralph Gaebler, professor of law Dawn Johnsen, professor of law Aviva Orenstein, professor of law Christopher Anderson, associate professor of communication and culture James Capshew, professor of history and philosophy of science Elliot Sperling, associate professor of Central Eurasian studies Elizabeth Lloyd, professor and chair, history and philosophy of science; biology Craig Bradley, professor of law Jan Jaworowski, professor of mathematics Kenneth Johnston, professor and chair, English David Finkelstein, assistant professor of philosophy David Williams, professor of law Irving Katz, professor of history Richard Sorrenson, professor of history and philosophy of science William B. Cohen, professor of history Michael Grossberg, professor of history Barry Rubin, professor of public and environmental affairs John A. Scanlan, professor of law Maxine Watson, professor of biology Noel Krothe, professor of geological science Lawrence Friedman, professor of history Gilbert Chaitin, professor of French and Italian Ben Eklof, professor of history Esther Thelen, professor of psychology David Thelen, professor of history Kemal Silay, professor and chair, Ottoman and modern Turkish studies Leroy Rieselbach, professor emeritus of political science Edwardo Rhodes, professor of public and environmental affairs Joseph Stampfli, professor of mathematics Tim O’Connor, associate professor of philosophy Scott Gordon, Distinguished Professor emeritus of economics, history and philosophy of science Gary Pavlis, professor of geological science Peter Finn, associate professor of psychology, director of clinical psychology Elizabeth Lion, emerita professor of nursing Robert Arnove, professor of education Stephen Watt, professor of English David Daleke, professor of biology Elcye Rotella, professor of economics Charles Ridley, professor of education | |
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Publication date: September 29, 2000
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