Fire Professor or Lose Funds, Columbia Alumni Say

Columbia Spectator ^ | 04/03/03 | Margaret Hunt Gram

[Jeff Head]

Some alumni donors are pressuring the president's office and the Office of Development and Alumni Relations to fire Professor Nicholas De Genova for statements he made in last week's anti-war teach-in.

In the past few days, donors have barraged the offices with emails and phone calls, informing the University that they feel that De Genova overstepped the limits of academic free speech.

In mass-mailed email messages circulated among each other, alumni have urged each other to issue an ultimatum to the University: Fire De Genova or lose our donations.

"We've gotten a lot of calls," said Thomas Gray, who is in charge of alumni giving in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations. "The people who have called have been very upset. They're proud of their college heritage, and they're very unhappy that this occurred."

CC alumnus Steve Stuart wrote an email a few days ago to over 100 alumni--whose combined "net worth," he said, is at least $250 million--asking them to express outrage to University President Lee Bollinger.

"Until he is fired, the University will suffer," Stuart said. Many of those alumni responded to Stuart's request with letters sent directly to Bollinger. Like Stuart's, nearly all of the emails issued warnings regarding the alumni's continued financial support of the University.

Frank Cicero, CC '92 and Senior Vice President of Investment Banking at Lehman Brothers, told Bollinger that he felt De Genova's presence on campus "pollutes the educational atmosphere."

That "pollution" may compel Cicero to stop contributing to the University.

"In the past, I believed that it was naive and in bad taste for alumni to withhold gifts because of the political opinions of faculty members," Cicero said in his email to Bollinger. "However, I am now considering doing just that in response to the vile and mendacious comments made by De Genova."

Donor Peter Ross, CC '87, MBA '94, and a member of the Ivory Capital Group, told Bollinger that De Genova's comments made him ashamed of the University.

"This will weigh heavily on my heart at the end of the year when I consider the financial sacrifice that I am willing to make for the University," Ross wrote.

For other alumni, the controversy has become a family matter. Vincent Butkiewicz, CC '79 and MBA '85, promised Bollinger that he would cancel the donation he made in a recent fund drive, assuring him that "you should not expect to see any donations from me nor an application for admission from any of my children until Prof. De Genova has been fired."

Peter Butkiewicz, CC '85, sent a nearly identical email. And their father, John Butkiewicz, CC '51 and a former member of the U.S. Army, informed Bollinger that he was revising his will to exclude Columbia.

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[Centurion2000]

Gray, and others working in the Office of University Development and Alumni Donations, said that the University would not necessarily heed ultimatums even if important donors issued them.

"They'd love for us to fire him, but it's not going to happen," Gray said. "He's protected under academic free speech."

Welcome to the world of consequences. The money will dry up and your college will blow away.

[Cacique]

ping

[rmlew]

On April 9th, Columbia students will participate in “Lobby Day”, where they are used by the university to ask for more federal funding.
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/03/03/student_lobbyday.html

It would be usefull if Freepers could write their congressman and ask them to tell the Columbia students that they will not be getting more funding.

The administration is complicit.
Before the administration could claim that they were distancing themselves from De Genova and the teach-in.
Here, they are covering up the remarks. Given this position and the fact that the university is going to make one of the participants of the "teach-in" responsible for faculty and curriculum decisions, the administration has taken the side of the radicals.

The good news is that alumni are beginning to respond to this issue. Many have threatened to withhold donations. http://www.columbiaspectator.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/04/03/3e8c1bcf54f95

At some point, the Trustees will reign in the radicals.
They just need a push.

I've asked members of congress to withhold funding untill Columbia meets the following demands:

1. Columbia must have a semblance of ideological balance for it to be a true institution of higher learning, not indoctrination.
2. To promote national security, Columbia must start complying with regulations regarding the registration and processing of foreign students.
3. If the university wishes to disavow itself of Professor De Genova's comments, it must reinstate the ROTC program and stop harrassment of ROTC members by faculty and staff.

[PLOM...NOT!]

The hypocrisy is so glaring...you are dead on. If it's conservative speech it's labeled "hate speech", liberal speaking "TRUE" HATE speech, its called freedom of speech.

[Spirited]

THank you for this post update, Jeff.

It is refreshing to note that a few of the alumni have the good sense to understand that the reputation of their school is still vital to its' excellence.

[lawdave]

This reminds me of the fallout at the University of Oklaqhoma Law school after the Anita Hill debacle. The Dean used the facility for a press conference suppporting her. Economic support immediately dried up. He ultimately issued a long winded written apology to try to restart the dollars flowing. It did not work. He ultimately lost his job and Hill moved on. Since a new dean came in the law school is doing great.This kind of pressure works!

[lawdave]

I don't know why my post has all the white space. Sorry

[Mamzelle]

Where's the hue and cry, the groundswell of support from his fellow academics?

(snicker)

[Diddley]

Mailman told the New York Post that she thought Bollinger "handled it very beautifully when he certainly disavowed, personally, for the university and for himself, all of the professor's comment, but upholds his right to make them."

Mr. Bollinger:
YOU have the right of free speech also.
You CAN say that such statements (although "protected") undermine the United States.
You CAN say that De Genova should be called to acount for his remarks by the public.
You CAN say that - although De Genova has the right to speak - he can morally be held to pay for his statements.
YOU, Mr. Bollinger, HAVE the right to free speech also.
You CAN make the the above statements and similar ones.
It would be a good-faith example of how YOU exercise YOUR free-speech. Will You do it?

Or, you CAN say that you don't care if allumni withold funds, you will not condemn De Genova.

[Jeff Head]

"tarred and feathered and carried out of town on a rail"

When talking to my WW II combat vet Dad (South Pacific) and a local WW II combat vet friend (Iwo Jima) those are precisely the words they used.

[Marysecretary]

Hit them where it hurts--the pocketbook. It works every time (evil laugh).

[Jeff Head]

That's one avenue, and there are calls from Representatives in the House and Senators for just this as respects Arnet.

The avenue we are exploring here with De Genova is bringing the power of public opinion and the market to bear. I believe that one has a good chance of achieving some immediate results, like getting him axed at Columbia.

I am not qualified to speak legally on the other ... but I can tell you from a horse sense standpoint that when he appealed to other soldiers to disobey their officers and fight with the Iraqis ... that he was being traitorus, seditious and treasonous as far as I am concerned.

[Jeff Head]

Check out post 60 of this former thread.

Write the prof and the Presidnet of Columbia. Get everyone you can to do the same.

[Jeff Head]

Amen. They ignore it at their peril ... and good riddance if they do.

[Jeff Head]

Amen! keep the pressure on the University and Congress. I will write my own here in Idaho as well.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Dohrn has NOT been fired - unfortunately.

[Jeff Head]

You are welcome. Please email these people (use post 60 from this thread, and get everyone you can to do the same.

Keep the pressure on.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Can someone please explain to me the difference between "academic free speech" and the kind mentioned in the Bill of Rights?

[A_perfect_lady]

Here's wishing for a million maddened donors! Let the ears of the Columbia Commies ring with the sounds of a million pocketbooks snapping shut! Let the name DeGenova become to university hiring committees what Barry Manilow is to heavy metal fans! The next time I see this SOB I want him holding a bucket and a squeegee on the corner of some Manhatten intersection.