Students for Academic Freedom, a newly formed student organization, has begun to take steps to raise awareness about what they called “violations of academic freedom” fueled by a professor’s claims of unjust tenure denial.
The group hopes to challenge academic barriers of what professors can and cannot teach.
Sophomore Kyle Unruh, one of the group’s first members, said academic awareness is critical to students’ academic experience.
The group has six members but Unruh said more than 20 students have expressed interest in joining.
“We depend on higher education as students, and we depend on our professors to bring us accurate, truthful and comprehensive information on these subjects,” he said.
The organization was formed when former students of Margo Ramlal-Nankoe, assistant professor of sociology, had heard she had been denied tenure and may sue Ithaca College.
As previously reported in The Ithacan, Ramlal-Nankoe was hired in 1997 and entered a tenure-eligible position in 2000. She was first reviewed for tenure in 2006 but, as a result of alleged irregularities in the review process, was granted a two-year probationary period. When she was reviewed again last year, her tenure was denied. Ramlal-Nankoe threatened to sue the college in a letter sent to President Tom Rochon and C. William Schwab, chair of the Board of Trustees, on Sept. 16. She claims she was denied tenure based on her political views and the subject matter of her teaching, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The factors considered for receiving tenure are detailed in the faculty handbook and political views do not play a role in the tenure process, Howard Erlich, former dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences told The Ithacan in an article Sept. 25.
Students that joined the group said that they thought that her teaching was balanced.
Senior Jordan Jadallah said Ramlal-Nankoe taught from different points of view, which helped him better understand international politics.
“I really wasn’t very aware of international politics before taking her classes, and she just kind of opened my eyes to a lot of different ways of looking at the world that I hadn’t really considered before,” he said.
Unruh said he thinks it is a problem if professors cannot make their own decisions about what they can say in the classroom.
“We think professors, if they consider an issue to be important and salient to higher education for students, need to be able to teach those things without having to consider possible negative consequences of those teachings,” he said.
Fred Wilcox, associate professor of writing, said he plans to be the group’s adviser because the group is supporting Ramlal-Nankoe in her attempt to reverse the college’s decision about her tenure.
“I support her efforts because I think it would be too bad if she did not get tenure,” he said. “I think from what I know about her teaching, students seem to respond to her favorably. They seem to like her. She seems to have a good relationship with the students.”
Junior Nate Banfield said he had heard about similar cases of professors being denied tenure based on political views but was surprised to hear claims it happened at the college.
“I was surprised, but I wasn’t,” he said. “I know that this happens on campuses, [but] I was a bit surprised that it happened at the sociology department of Ithaca College, which I think of as more liberal.”
The first project of the organization is bringing Ramlal-Nankoe’s lawyer, Lynne Bernabei, a Washington D.C.-based attorney, and Norman Finkelstein, a professor from DePaul University who was also denied tenure, to campus Tuesday at noon. Finkelstein said he was denied tenure for teaching the same subjects concerning Israel, Palestine and Darfur as Ramlal-Nankoe did. The event is open to all students, faculty and staff. The location will soon be announced.
The speakers Tuesday and in the future will be funded through donations Ramlal-Nankoe has received from people concerned about her case.
Dave Maley, associate director of media relations, said the college supports the organization.
“Students are of course free to form any kinds of organizations that they wish,” he said. “Ithaca College supports and encourages and practices academic freedom.”
Unruh said the current situation is a good opportunity to teach about the larger problem at hand, because the problem extends beyond the college.
“This tenure situation isn’t an isolated incident,” he said. “It’s happened both here in IC in the past, and it continues to happen in other places.”
Unruh said the way Ramlal-Nankoe taught about subjects such as the Darfur conflict and Israeli-Palestinian struggle was fair by presenting multiple points of view.
“She’s presented both sides [of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict], but one side of that is within the academic community considered to be the more appropriate, popular side,” he said.
Banfield said the club’s goal is to teach students through speakers and advertising about academic freedom so they can fight for it.
“The students have a lot of power at this school that they don’t realize,” he said.
