Dive Brief:
- Faculty members at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are questioning whether a university review of an adjunct professor’s past will be fair, Inside Higher Ed reports.
- James Kilgore, the adjunct, has been notified that, despite high review ratings, his contract will not be renewed for the fall due to a local newspaper's identifying him as a former member of the Symbionese Liberation Army, the extremist group that infamously kidnapped Patty Hearst.
- Christopher Kennedy, the U. of Illinois board chairman, has said in an interview with The News-Gazette that the board respects the review process but has strong feelings about what should happen.
Dive Insight:
This is a case that raises questions about what rights, if any, adjunct professors have in the face of public criticism. Insider Higher Ed reported that Kennedy said in his interview that “our general position is clear. We want to be respectful of the fact that we operate on taxpayer's money and tuition ... and people paying tuition who have will have concerns about underwriting this lifestyle." Also, because of Kilgore’s status as an adjunct professor, academic freedom issues are not at stake, he said. University administrators had been aware of Kilgore’s past when he was hired.
