Politics Disrupts Search for New Professor at Fresno State
By Colby Cyrus/Contributing Writer
Fresno State was simply looking for someone who demonstrated “active scholarship in the candidate’s area of expertise with a special focus on Edward Said’s intellectual legacy.” The search for such an individual; however, soon took a rather convoluted turn.
The administration at Fresno has chosen to abruptly terminate the process of locating a faculty member to fill the Edward Said Professorship of Middle East Studies, citing unspecified procedural errors. Despite the university’s official reasoning, many on the outside are calling for a time out.
The late Said was a professor of English at Columbia University and a founding figure in the studies of post colonialism. His seminal piece, Orientalism, is a leading work in modern Middle Eastern scholarship. Aside from his groundbreaking accomplishments in theory, Said was also a renowned supporter of the Palestinian cause, which appears to be the crux of the firestorm currently engulfing Fresno State.
Fresno sought an individual who could advance their own field of research while upholding and honoring the legacy of Said himself. During the ending stage of the process, wherein the university had narrowed the search down to four individuals who met its criteria, it bluntly ended the pursuit of a new faculty member.
While the administration has blamed the cancellation on a series of procedural errors, many observers aren’t buying the explanation. Larger issues are coming into play, specifically due to the Middle Eastern and Palestinian ethnicity of the finalists, and Said’s sympathy towards the people of Palestine during the course of his career.
Many of those with knowledge of the situation chalk the decision up to the influence brought by those who were dissatisfied with the finalists’ Middle Eastern backgrounds and Palestinian research interests. Vida Samiian, the chair of the Middle Eastern studies department, resigned in response to the cancellation, placing an even larger question mark on the leadership at Fresno.
Samiian, also the former Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, said in a letter to administration officials that ending the search represents an attack by Israeli advocacy groups on the process of choosing a new professor, highlighting the inherent tangling of interests which accompanies the process.
While some cite the role of such groups, many others are convinced that the decision represents an act of discrimination and an assault on academic freedom. These claims are perhaps not aided by the fact that next year’s search will be limited to members of the English and philosophy departments, according to an unnamed source.
Samiian also noted that any legitimate concerns about the search process should have been brought to the forefront during the initial stages of the process, rather than at the end. She noted that the entire course of action illustrates a “documented campaign of harassment and intimidation”.
There are also apparent concerns of the Jewish community, both on and off the campus of Fresno. These issues were brought to the attention of the search committee by members of the Fresno faculty, such concerns were left unidentified.
Aside from charges of discrimination, the decision to end the search has also been peppered with accusations of racial profiling and assaults on academic freedom, furthering the already tense situation. In a statement, the university acknowledged the presence of an unnamed “unauthorized party” which was exerting influence upon members of the search committee.
The choice to terminate the search illustrates the relationship between politics and academia on the collegiate level, despite the need for such a link to remain unbiased. Competing interests were innumerable in this process, with diversions between Israeli advocacy groups, the Jewish community, fellow Fresno faculty members, and many others.
This set of circumstances leaves countless questions unanswered. Why would an outside group believe it could advance its own interests through a Fresno state professor who is sympathetic to its cause? What is the nature of the link between Said’s support for Palestine, the Palestinian interests of the finalists, and the influence of outsiders?
The truth may take a while to reveal itself if it ever does. Until the facts are straightened out, this process and the relations between the interested parties will continue to leave more questions than answers.