Dive Brief:
- Steven Salaita's lawsuit against the University of Illinois for denying him a tenured position also names unidentified donors to the university.
- Salaita’s job offer from the university was rescinded over objections to tweets criticizing Israel, which some labeled as anti-Semitic. According to Salaita’s lawsuit, donors threatened to withhold contributions if the university followed through on its commitment to hire him, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported.
- A faculty committee had reported in December that there was no evidence of donor influence on the university’s decision.
Dive Insight:
While it may be difficult for Salaita’s lawyers to produce proof, there’s no doubt that at least part of the university’s decision would have been made based on donor’s wishes, or fear of a possible backlash from donors over the negative publicity generated by Salaita’s commentary. The lawsuit, filed Thursday, accuses Phyllis Wise, chancellor of the Urbana-Champaign campus, of destroying a donor’s letter that argued against hiring Salaita.
