There has been much confusion surrounding the hiring and subsequent firing of Hassan Diab, a contract instructor (a “sessional” in the language of the university) in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Carleton University, who was hired as an emergency replacement to teach half of SOCI 1002 Introduction to Sociology II.
No one seems to dispute any of the following:
- Diab has been accused of masterminding a terrorist attack on a synogogue in Paris in 1980, which resulted in the death of four people.
- Diab is presently under virtual house arrest pending an extradition hearing. He has been released on $250,000 bail, which carries a number of conditions; viz., electronic surveillance and to only leave his residence in the company of one of the five people who contributed money to his bail.
- Diab denies any involvement in the attack and even denies being in France at the time.
- Diab has a doctorate in sociology and has taught as a contract instructor at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University.
- No one has questioned his teaching ability.
- No one has accused him of displaying any bias, be it anti-semitic or otherwise.
- Diab was hired through appropriate channels and his hiring was approved by senior administration in full knowledge of his background, including consultation with in-house counsel.
- Diab was fired without notice or warning shortly after a press release denouncing his teaching at Carleton University on July 28, 2009. His firing was not discussed at the departmental or faculty level and was imposed by senior administration.
What are the relevant issues?
- Diab is a contract instructor whose relations are governed by a collective bargaining agreement. The CBA only allows firing in the case of offenses. Diab did not committ any offenses related to his employment. Consequently, it would appear that he was fired without cause and thus in contravention to the CBA. This is the first issue: senior administration has deemed that their actions are not governed by the CBA. This is an attack on organized labour and upon sessional instructors (myself included) without whom the university (that is, nearly any university) would be unable to function and deliver a significant portion of its undergraduate courses.
- Following Diab’s firing, senior administration assigned a faculty member to replace Diab for the remainder of the semester. Faculty allocation is a departmental responsibility and, thus, is the business of the Chair of the department and any other existing departmental institutions. This is the second issue: senior administration has deemed it has the power to interfere with the day to actions and management at the departmental level. This is in long standing tradition of collegial government. This is an attack upon collegial self-government.
- The faculty members of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, led by the Chair of the department, Peter Gose, have stood up in defense of Diab demanding his reinstatement. This is the third issue: in accordance with fiscal reality (i.e., increasing dependence upon sessional labour) and the principles of collegial self-government, the tenured and tenure-track faculty of the department (i.e., the permanent members) have correctly stood up for one of their own.
- The timing of the firing in relation to the B’nai Brith press release demands discussion. This is the fourth issue: did an outside organization manage to influence the decisions of senior management in contradiction to the normal principles of university management and government? If so, why was senior administration susceptible to this pressure? Has senior administration made any other rash decisions in response to external pressure? If so, what were they and in response to what?
- Diab has not been convicted of any crime. This is the fifth issue: his right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty has been violated.
What is not a relevant issue?
- The hiring and subsequent firing of Diab has never been about academic freedom. Any suggestion to that effect is disingenuous.
For my part, I support the actions of the faculty and Chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, both as a sessional lecturer at Carleton University, as someone who believes that tenured and tenure-track faculty owe a duty of care to vulnerable graduate students and sessional lectures, and as someone who strongly believes in collegial self-governance. At the same time, as a sessional lecturer at Carleton University, I cannot help but feel rather vulnerable just by writing this, especially given that I have not yet signed my Fall 2009/Winter 2010 contracts.
