Posted on 12/27/2006 1:51:49 PM PST by wagglebee
Boston, MA (LifeNews.com) -- A black Massachusetts Institute of Technology stem cell researcher who doesn't support human cloning says he is planning a hunger strike for next February if the prestigious college doesn't reverse its decision to deny him tenure. Dr. James L. Sherley, an associate professor of biological engineering, says he is a victim of racism.
Sherley has been an outspoken advocate against human cloning -- including the kind of therapeutic cloning his colleagues and other scientists want to use to create and destroy human embryos for their stem cells.
He has been fighting for tenure at MIT for over two years and hopes a hunger strike will change the minds of top school officials, including Provost L. Rafael Reif.
“I will either see the provost resign and my hard-earned tenure granted at MIT, or I will die defiantly right outside his office,” Sherley wrote in a strongly worded letter.
Sherley told the Boston Globe in January 2005 that fellow professors label him “stubborn” instead of “independent-minded" because he refuses to endorse human cloning and embryonic stem cell research.
In fact, Sherley, the son of a Baptist minister, is vocal in saying the practices involve the destruction of human life and shouldn't be supported and he was once involved in a shouting match with a colleague at a local restaurant.
Sherley was hired in July 1998 as an assistant professor and later promoted to associate professor. But if he is not granted tenure he will have to leave MIT and seek employment elsewhere.
Sherley told the Globe that Douglas A. Lauffenburger, the director of the Biological Engineering division, told him that he had strong recommendations letters for tenure but that he was denied it because of his views on stem cell research.
The professor said he hasn't been a victim of overt racism but said he is frequently asked whose research lab he works in when he has his own.
Reif ordered an investigation into Sherley’s case by three senior faculty members in late 2005. By January 2006, Reif concluded that there were no grounds to reconsider Sherley’s case for tenure.
This week, Sherley was told that the decision was to refuse him tenure.
Pro-Life Ping
Freepmail wagglebee or little jeremiah to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list.
FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search
Bravo, Dr. Sherley...
prayers for his cause...
and what good is science and the free will that God bestowed upon us if we use it to destroy life?
personally, I think we should use science and technology to better society and further our appreciation for all of God's wonders...but then again, I don't belong to the Culture of Death...
You are completely right and the NAACP and ACLU will say NOTHING about it.
Just wish him good luck, and let 'em diet.....
"I'll let you in on a secret. The term pre-embryo has been embraced wholeheartedly by IVF practitioners for reasons that are political, not scientific. The new term is used to provide the illusion that there is something profoundly different between what we nonmedical biologists still call a six-day-old embryo and what we and everyone else call a sixteen-day-old embryo.
"The term pre-embryo is useful in the political arena -- where decisions are made about whether to allow early embryo (now called pre-embryo) experimentation -- as well as in the confines of a doctor's office, where it can be used to allay moral concerns that might be expressed by IVF patients. 'Don't worry,' a doctor might say, 'it's only pre-embryos that we're manipulating or freezing. They won't turn into real human embryos until after we've put them back into your body.'"
[Silver, Lee M. Remaking Eden: Cloning and Beyond in a Brave New World. New York: Avon Books, 1997, p. 39]
If you look at his list of publications, it is not extensive.
http://web.mit.edu/be/people/sherley.htm
He may be a wonderful teacher but that is not a big factor when it comes to MIT granting tenure.
I'd guess, being black helped him, being opposed to fetal stem cell use hurt him, and the deciding factor was his lack of published research.
Mrs VS
I suspect his tenure denial has little to do with either his race or his views on stem cell research, and a lot to do with his being a drama queen (and stubborn).
And now we know, the rest of the story.
The deciding factor was most likely his personality, seeing as how he's given to making sophomoric threats, such as this one about how he's going to die right outside the provost's office if he doesn't get what he wants. Sounds like the sort of guy nobody would really want to have around, regardless of his race, views on stem cell research, or publications.
Ummm, this is the college where Noam Chomsky walks around naked and calls it science.
Dr. Sherley could have played the "high moral ground" card, but he chose to play the "race" card instead.
One man should not make or break a university. MIT is one of the best universities in the world, period.
Name another Professor that teaches there.
Boston, MA (LifeNews.com) -- A black Massachusetts Institute of Technology stem cell researcher who doesn't support human cloning says he is planning a hunger strike for next February if the prestigious college doesn't reverse its decision to deny him tenure. Dr. James L. Sherley, an associate professor of biological engineering, says he is a victim of racism.Dr. Paul A. Samuelson.
Dr. Robert M. Solow.
Two Economics Nobel Laureates.
Do they not satisfy your "teaches there" requirement?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.