Sunday morning, University of Alaska Prof. Rick Steiner challenged his boss, U of A President, Gen. Mark Hamilton, to an open, public forum:"I would like to invite you to debate with me, openly and publicly, re: the issue of academic freedom, and the influence of corporate donations to the university."
Gen. Hamilton has replied - rather tersely, but positively:
"Dr Steiner, you have peaked my interest. Mark"
Gen. Hamilton might have picked a better choice of words, but I'm piqued by the possibility that these two distinguished Alaskans, both apparently about to leave our sometimes inadequate, sometimes dynamically impressive university system, might meet, debate and air not only the issues of Steiner's activism, but others as well.
Let's hope Mark and Rick can meet publicly, so we can all have a peek, and that the meeting becomes an opportunity to help Alaskans understand the complexity of accommodating a visionary such as Steiner in an academic environment as stifling as the one Hamilton has had to promote. That would certainly be a peak experience.
You can help Gen. Hamilton report for duty on this by calling or emailing him at his office in Fairbanks.
His office phone number is (907) 450-8000
His email is sypres@alaska.edu
Be polite.
Here is Rick Steiner's challenge to Gen. Hamilton:
President Hamilton –Given recent circumstances, I would like to invite you to debate with me, openly and publicly, re: the issue of academic freedom, and the influence of corporate donations to the university.You have said many things in support of academic freedom over the years, but when push came to shove in my case, you made a decision in opposition to free speech.In 2002, you received an award for your support of academic freedom from a group calling itself the “National Association of Scholars”, who it turns out, actually opposes sustainability movements on today’s college campuses. They say that sustainability is “deceptive, coercive, closed-minded, a pseudo-religion, distorts higher education, shrinks freedom, programs people, is anti-rational, by-passes faculty, and is wasteful.” This group apparently supports free speech only when they agree with what is spoken, and opposes it when they disagree with what is spoken. Apparently this is your position as well. That you chose to accept an award fro this group calls into serious question the progressive character of the University of Alaska.All of this is an extremely serious transgression of the very role a university is supposed to fulfill in civil society.
I look forward to your reply, and to debating this issue publicly and honestly.
Sincerely, Rick Steiner, Professor
8 comments:
One would hope that a university president could properly write a seven word sentence. But no. The expression is "piqued my interest," not "peaked my interest."
But it gets better! According to Wikipedia, Gen. Hamilton has a Master's in English Literature from Florida State University . . .
LOL
Now this is one debate I would travel the 170 miles to watch.... Who would the judges be?
Good reads on this issue Phill, very good reads.
Annoymouse
Annoymouse,
Thanks. We'll see if Mark is actually "picked."
let's hope they stick to the issues and it doesn't become just gorilla theater.
Could it be that Hamilton chose the word "peaked" deliberately, as in: "I am over you, and any interest I may have had is waning"?
Just thinking... let's see if he follows through on the "piqued interest" statement, or drops any further consideration of a debate.
As far as his degree is concerned, all I can say is PFFFT!!! There are way too any academics who cannot spell... it's the American way to not let the English Language interfere with what they are trying to say. (Rant over).
"Could it be that Hamilton chose the word "peaked" deliberately, as in: "I am over you, and any interest I may have had is waning"?"
I thought of that. One of Hamilton's vanities is that he thinks himself a poet. Several of his poems have been published, at least two of them in the notable "Ice Floe" quarterly. But the poems have seldom shown any sophisticated use of double entendre or purposefully ambiguous word play.
And Hamilton has successfully managed to keep his fingerprints off of the Steiner affair, so by raising the mystery of from what level of interest he may now have "peaked" would be opening the question of his direct involvement with UA's policy toward handling the NOAA situation.
Phil...what's up with your headline? It's bullshit.
you wrote, "University of Alaska President Accepts Prof. Steiner's Challenge to Debate Freedom of Expression on Campus"
Hamilton accepted NOTHING! Your headline is as accurate as Hamilton's use of the word "peaked".
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