Brooklyn College officials announced Monday that they have re-hired adjunct professor Kristofer Petersen-Overton after dismissing him last week for an alleged lack of experience, a move that set off a fiery discussion on academic freedom.
On Jan. 27, Petersen-Overton was told that he lacked the requisite qualifications to teach a master’s course entitled Politics of the Middle East. But Petersen-Overton and his supporters suspected that the discharge was linked to New York State Assemblyman and Brooklyn College graduate Dov Hikind’s denouncement of his left-leaning politics, submitted to the school shortly before the adjunct was let go.
The incident prompted widespread censure of the college, with students and professors rallying behind Petersen-Overton and calling his dismissal an affront to academic freedom. Still, Brooklyn College spokesman Jeremy Thompson told the New York Times that the school’s decision to re-hire Petersen-Overton was not due to external pressure: “There was no political motivation behind this at all; it was always a question of credentials and process.”
According to Brooklyn College President Karen Gould, the updated decision came from the members of the political science department, who agreed unanimously that Petersen-Overton should reclaim his post. Like Thompson, she maintains that the departmental decision was not influenced by the public outcry prompted by Petersen-Overton’s dismissal. Inside Higher Ed has Gould’s statement:
For his part, Hikind is less than pleased with the college’s behavior. He told Gothamist that he was ashamed to hold a degree from Brooklyn College, adding: “Everything was bizarre, and the most bizarre thing is the change that happened over the weekend. Who was intimidated, who was coerced? I don’t know. I’m just surprised by the entire behavior. These are not children. These are intellectuals. These are smart people. It’s a bizarre chapter.”
On his website, Petersen-Overton called the updated decision “a victory for academic freedom.”
Petersen-Overton has also been given the go-ahead to teach a graduate seminar on Middle Eastern politics beginning Thursday, reports Inside Higher Ed.
