The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) released a statement Oct. 14 to the University of Minnesota on the revocation of Raz Segal’s job offer.
AAUP Director Todd Wolfson condemned the revocation, calling it a violation of academic freedom.
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities AAUP Chapter President William Jones said the statement is a powerful message and hopes it will convince administration to make changes.
“I think the statement sends a message that what happened was a violation of these core principles,” Jones said.
Nathaniel Mills, a University professor and AAUP member, said the AAUP is an expert on academic freedom and is influential across campus.
“The president of the University has no constitutional authority, according to the Board of Regents policies which govern the U, to override a hire like this,” Mills said.
Given the current politicization, Mills said it is essential that faculty speech be protected.
The University’s Center for Genocide and Holocaust Studies has had an interim director since 2021. The hiring process for a new director was done by a committee of faculty in the College of Liberal Arts (CLA).
They released their recommendations in June and offered Segal the job.
“Part of that decision is based on his experience,” Jones said. “He’s a world-renowned scholar of genocide.”
Segal released a statement in October 2023 saying the situation in Gaza is “textbook genocide.” Ettinger revoked Segal’s job offer June 10 after several complaints from community members.
“The purpose of the search was to hire somebody who is an expert on genocide,” Jones said. “The people who were best prepared to make a decision were other faculty members who study similar issues.”
The AAUP is concerned with how Ettinger handled Segal’s hiring process and the precedent it set for controversial speech in academic settings.
“He’s (Ettinger) not a historian, he’s not in a position to decide whether Raz Segel was the right person for this position. He made this position purely on political grounds, which is sort of a classic cut-and-dry case of a violation of academic freedom,” Jones said.
The CLA constitution states the college dean is responsible for hiring and does not require the approval of the President or Provost.
The faculty senate voted no-confidence in Ettinger and Provost Rachel Croson this summer.
“The fear that me and my colleagues have is it would be very difficult for a scholar, regardless of their political views, to comfortably accept the job with this precedent,” Mills said.
In an emailed statement to the Minnesota Daily, President Rebecca Cunningham said the University plans to create a task force focused on academic freedom and hiring policies in response to the situation.
“Academic freedom is cornerstone to our success here at the University of Minnesota, and so our goal is to have a faculty-led committee in place by January so that they can convene this important work,” Cunningham said.
