Culminating a highly public battle, DePaul University has denied controversial assistant political science Professor Norman Finkelstein tenure.
His case drew widespread interest because of the Jewish professor’s blunt criticism of Jews and the state of Israel, and the attack on those views by Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz.
In a statement Friday, DePaul confirmed that while the political science department and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences had recommended tenure for Finkelstein, the college’s dean and the University Board on Promotion and Tenure had recommended against it.
DePaul’s president, the Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, made the final decision.
In an interview Friday, Finkelstein said he was “disappointed,” but that the decision would not muzzle his views. “I met the standards of tenure required at DePaul, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the political opposition to my speaking out on the Israel-Palestine conflict,” he said.