May 07, 2007

Professor sends link to Pat Buchanan website, gets put on leave

But, it wasn't just any old link:

The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) has placed a professor on forced administrative leave and has recommended that he be terminated for e-mailing a Thanksgiving message to his colleagues last November. On the day before Thanksgiving, Professor Walter Kehowski sent out the text of George Washington's "Thanksgiving Day Proclamation of 1789" and a link to the webpage where he'd found it—on Pat Buchanan's web log. After several recipients complained of being offended by the e-mail, MCCCD found Kehowski guilty of violating the district's Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policy and technology usage standards. Kehowski then contacted the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for help...

...On November 22, 2006, tenured mathematics professor Walter Kehowski at Glendale Community College—part of the MCCCD system—sent an e-mail containing Washington's "Thanksgiving Day Proclamation of 1789" to all MCCCD employees using a district-wide listserv designated for "announcements." Within weeks, five MCCCD employees filed harassment charges against Kehowski, claiming his message was "hostile" and "derogatory" because it contained a link to Buchanan's website, where the conservative Buchanan had also posted his criticisms of immigration policies.

Feel free to contact them and let them know what you think:

Rufus Glasper, Chancellor, Maricopa County Community College District: 480-731-8100; r.glasper@domail.maricopa.edu

Velvie Green, President, Glendale Community College: 623-845-3012; velvie.green@gcmail.maricopa.edu

Posted to MultiCultiCult at May 7, 2007 10:22 PM