(Sackville, New Brunswick)
The Mount Allison Faculty Association regrets that once again a distinguished retired professor has found it necessary to turn down the offer of professor emeritus at Mount Allison University.
Dr. Janet Hammock, pianist, composer, and Professor of Music at Mount Allison until 2001, announced today that, “I must postpone my acceptance of this title until the appointment of Professor Emeritus has been offered to Professor Michael Thorpe, and reoffered to Professor Charles Scobie and Professor George De Benedetti.”
Retired professors have been turning down emeritus appointments at Mount Allison since the Board of Regents in an unprecedented step in 1998 refused the University Senate’s recommendation that Professor Michael Thorpe be appointed emeritus.
A report by the Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, published in April, 2002 concluded that, “ we find it difficult not to conclude that Professor Thorpe was denied the teaching and the emeritus status because he wrote openly critical letters about the administration which were published in various newspapers.” In the academic world, professors have the right – and indeed the duty – to use their academic freedom to analyze, to criticize, and to evaluate the workings of society.
During the past year there have been many discussions on the Mount Allison campus about revising the procedure for emeritus appointments. Dr. Rick Hudson, President of the Mount Allison Faculty Association, said, “I am hopeful that in the near future it will be possible to overcome the difficulties of the past so that all eligible professors, including Dr. Hammock and the others, will receive their emeritus appointments. It is very unfortunate that this is not yet the case.”
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CONTACT PERSON: Dr. Rick Hudson, President, Mount Allison Faculty Association
Ph: 506-364-2331
MAFA Office: 506-364-2289
PO Box 6314 Sackville NB E4L 1G6 tel:(506) 364-2289 fax: (506) 364-2288, [email protected]