Month: June 2018

Last week I attended the very interesting meeting of the Heterodox Academy in New York. The association emphasizes the importance of what they call “viewpoint diversity,” and in our time of polarized politics the defenders of free speech the group attracts are often labeled as right wing. In fact, there were people from various parts of the political spectrum at the meeting, even if it is true there were plenty of centrists in attendance. Given our efforts to create greater intellectual diversity at Wesleyan, I was happy to listen and to be a part of the conversations.

My panel at the Heterodox meetings dealt with how academic administrators could help create a more robust culture of free inquiry and expression. Videos of all the panels can be found here (my panel is about a third of the way down the page).

This morning I’m off to Banff for a debate on the impact of safe spaces on the commitment to free speech. I’ll argue that one actually needs a level of safety to have fair access to learning, and that this level (“safe enough spaces”)  creates room for productive intellectual diversity and reasonable argument. The program is part of the Intelligence Squared series, which you can read about here.

I’m pleased to be part of conversations in which I’ll hear different points of view — that’s how learning happens, as I know from my Wesleyan classes.

This past weekend former First Lady Laura Bush wrote:

Our government should not be in the business of warehousing children in converted box stores or making plans to place them in tent cities in the desert outside of El Paso. These images are eerily reminiscent of the Japanese American internment camps of World War II, now considered to have been one of the most shameful episodes in U.S. history. We also know that this treatment inflicts trauma; interned Japanese have been two times as likely to suffer cardiovascular disease or die prematurely than those who were not interned.

This spring Attorney General Sessions described a zero tolerance policy that would result in the separation of parents and children. “If you don’t want your child separated, then don’t bring them across the border illegally,” Sessions said in May. “The laws are the laws. But a big name of the game is deterrence,” Chief-of-Staff John Kelly told NPR. “It could be a tough deterrent—would be a tough deterrent,” he added. This week, however, in reaction to the outrage about separating families, Kirstjen Nielson, the head of Homeland Security tweeted: “We do not have a policy of separating families at the border. Period.”  She means that the administration is “only enforcing the law.” Whatever your politics, it seems clear that the current administration has a new tactic: children are being used as human shields to dissuade people from coming to the United States for asylum or in search of a better life.

As Ms. Bush said: “I appreciate the need to enforce and protect our international boundaries, but this zero-tolerance policy is cruel. It is immoral. And it breaks my heart.”

Why is this relevant to a university president? In the spring of 2016, we announced that Wesleyan would treat DACA-eligible students as we do other domestic applicants. This means that these applicants, who have spent the bulk of their lives in the US, would have their full financial needs met if they were admitted to study here. In November, 2016, we declared Wesleyan a sanctuary campus, with two basic components:

• Wesleyan will remain committed to the principles of non-discrimination, including equal protection under the law, regardless of national origin or citizenship.

• Wesleyan will not voluntarily assist in any efforts by the federal government to deport our students, faculty or staff solely because of their citizenship status.

As I said at the time, “supporting these talented and deserving young people is the right thing to do, and is consistent with Wesleyan values and our commitment to equity and inclusion.” As I wrote last year, “Since our very beginnings, our country has been immeasurably strengthened by immigrants. Turning our backs on those in need today is worse than heartless.”

The heinous practices initiated by the United States government on the southern border are not consistent with our university’s values, nor our country’s. Listening to the cries of the children on the recording published this afternoon by ProPublica, I wonder what it will take for education leaders across the country to reject this viciousness.

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We must stop these vile practices before they entirely erode our civic life. We in the education community depend on that life for our purpose and our practice. Let’s make our voices heard!

I received word this morning that Douglas J. Bennet ’59, P’87, ’94 , Wesleyan’s 15th president (1995-2007), passed away last night. From the moment I was interviewed on campus for the presidency, Doug was warm and welcoming, wise and full of love for the many facets of alma mater. He believed that Wesleyan gave him so much, and he gave back unstintingly with deep affection. His wife, Midge Bennet, has been kind and generous to Kari and me, and to Wesleyan, which she always embraced with open arms. Our condolences to Midge, Michael ’87, Holly ’94, James and the entire Bennet family — and to all of us in the Wesleyan family who were touched by this devoted leader, student and educator.

Doug served 12 years as president, retiring in 2007, and those were years of remarkable progress for Wesleyan. He oversaw the rejuvenation of the heart of the campus—from Memorial Chapel to Usdan University Center and Fayerweather—as well as the addition of the Freeman Athletic Center and the Film Studies Center. Doug’s accomplishments, however, went well beyond bricks and mortar.

He set an ambitious strategic direction for Wesleyan with two planning initiatives, the first of which became the basis for the $281 million Wesleyan Campaign—at that time the most successful campaign by far in the university’s history. Under his leadership, Wesleyan saw a 25 percent growth in applications for admission, a doubling of the endowment, and an invigorated relationship with Middletown. In improving this relationship, as in so many aspects of his work for Wesleyan, he could always count on the extraordinary efforts of his wife, Midge.

Doug’s presidency was the culmination of a truly distinguished career that included service as assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs under President Clinton, chief executive officer and president of National Public Radio, and head of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

When Doug announced his intention to retire as president, he spoke about the “Bennet family love affair with Wesleyan since 1929,” the year that his father enrolled as a first-year student. Doug never stopped showing his love for Wesleyan, and he, in turn, was a beloved member of the Wesleyan community. He will live on in our cherished memories and in Wesleyan history.