[lbo-talk] scumbag Botstein responds

[Doug Henwood]

Thank you for writing. Professor Kovel was not fired, and most  
certainly not for any political views he may or may not hold. After  
fifteen years of serving as the full-time occupant of a non-tenured  
endowed chair, he voluntarily assumed part-time status in 2004. At  
that time he received a five-year contract, with the understanding  
that after those five years the college reserved the right to renew  
his position on a year-to-year basis. He knew it was possible that his  
position might not be renewed after the 2008–2009 academic year. In  
consultation with faculty, Bard elected not to renew Professor Kovel’s  
contract because, like all colleges, it faces severe fiscal  
constraints and is doing everything it can to preserve the employment  
of its full-time faculty. Professor Kovel enjoyed a fine and  
productive career at Bard for more than twenty years. We are sorry for  
and astonished at his allegations, which have no basis in fact.

Cordially,
Leon Botstein
President, Bard College

Doug Henwood wrote:
>
> Your decision not to renew Joel Kovel's contract is a disgrace. For  
> an institution that likes to think of itself as independent and  
> "liberal," you've demonstrated a cowardish and slavish devotion to  
> orthodoxy. First the University of Michigan Press tries to suppress  
> Joel's book, Overcoming Zionism. Then Bard fires him, almost  
> certainly for his high-profile anti-Zionism. I suppose I shouldn't  
> be surprised, but American academia is proving itself an extremely  
> narrow-minded place.
>
>
>
> Doug Henwood
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