"Am I politic? Am I subtle?...Shall I lose my doctor?"

NOTE: Since (in a vain yet amusing attempt to slam Michelle Malkin) the "Malkin Watch" blog has chosen to (1.) cite me out of context and (2.) delete my comments informing them that I was displeased with such action, I ask they readers of this post read it carefully and thoroughly. Thanks for stopping by!

Another "academic freedom" issue, this one from the University of Pennsylvania: the professor in question, Francisco Gil-White, an Assistant Prof. in the Psychology Department, wrote this letter to the school newspaper claiming that his outside political activities have caused him to receive threats from other faculty and have now jeopardized his contract. (N.B. : his letter includes a link at the end to a list of the alleged threats he's received). Seems that the Doc spends his free time investigating supposed U.S. war crimes in Yugoslavia.

...Oh, and did I mention that this guy thinks the 9-11 attacks were AN INSIDE JOB?! (note: you may need a free subscription to read this philly.com article)

Now...(of course)... the plot thickens. The professor's student admirers are writing letters to the editor of the school newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian, claiming that his latest course is being unduly restricted for political reasons. And the University is saying that it's a question of administering the course requirements/prerequisites and not politics. Is outcry over his course just a coincidence? Or is it another example of his persecution at the hands of the University? Or do you think it indicates that the Prof. is a paranoid freak who perceives threats where there are none?

Decide for yourself; I'll continue to monitor this one, but at this point it sounds to me as if this guy is indeed "trying the university's patience": his publications are of questionable value and his student reviews are mixed. He's simply allowed his personal interests and private activities (which just so happen to be political passions) creep into his academic obligations. If that's true, it's sad to see another professor claim martyr status.

UPDATE (2/11/05, 11:22 am): Thanks to Michelle Malkin for linking to my site and welcome to her readers. Michelle points to an item from the Philadelphia Inquirer article mentioned above that I want to highlight here to give you a better understanding of the political views that Professor Gil-White says have gotten him in trouble with his peers & the U. of Pennsylvania:

Gil-White has also alleged that Penn political science professor Ian Lustick, who worked in the State Department 25 years ago, is an agent of U.S. intelligence working to undermine Israel. Gil-White said Lustick was trying to get him fired because of an article Gil-White wrote linking the Palestine Liberation Organization to the Nazis.

UPDATE (2/11/05, 11:33 am): Back in November 2003, Professor Gil-White penned this column to the school newspaper condemning the university for allowing Penn's Muslim Students Association to invite a speaker whom he considered to be blatantly anti-Semitic.

UPDATE (2/11/05, 1:39 pm): While it's tempting to compare Professor Gil-White with Ward Churchill, it's also important to note that these two apparently come from opposite ends of the political spectrum. This story from the Israel National News, for example, reads:

"I intend to fight this all the way to the Supreme Court if need be," says University of Pennsylvania Professor Francisco Gil-White. "College officials must not be allowed to silence those who defend Israel!"

So Ward and Francisco would probably have much to fight about. Now, I don't want to launch into platitudes about Aristotelian Means and the importance of always remaining in the ideological middle ground, because frankly I think this simply fetishizes neutrality and supposed openmindedness. I would simply note for now that a.) there are important distinctions to be drawn between the two cases. b.) professors can have tremendous charismatic power over their students (& the media) regardless of their political stripes and therefore c.) the whole process of gaining and maintaining tenure (Gil-White does not yet have it btw) must continue to be discussed and debated publicly and thoughtfully. This will no doubt bore most people to death and understandably so, but recent news events have underscored the importance of stewarding the tenure system. It's purpose and value needs to be examined, explained, and (if we decide as a nation and culture to keep it) more widely understood--if for no other reason than to preclude would-be martyrs (and I'm withholding judgment on Gil-White at this point) from simply running to an uninformed media and general public and screaming "academic freedom" any time their pathetic careers are threatened. A good place to start to educate yourself about the Pandora's Box that is University Tenure would be this thoughtful piece by Victor Davis Hanson.

UPDATE (2/16/05, 8:39am): A fellow online publisher of Professor Gil-White has responded to what he considers to be the unfair and deliberately biased treatment the Asst. Prof. received in last week's Philadelphia Inquirer article (link here). You can go here to read his response. Frankly, I find his replies to be innocuous and misleading and I won't take up further space on this story. My friendly advice to Professor Gil-White would be to drop the chip on your shoulder, stop pretending that your outrageous conspiracy theories should not lead people to suspect your credibility. Take a step back from what happened at Penn and learn from it so that you can get your professional career back on track. If that means distancing yourself from the folks at Emporer's Clothes for a while, then so be it--that move might do some good and result in some greater perspective on the issues that you feel so passionate about.