[Fdu] on the CAUT censure of the University of Toronto

[Cynthia Wright]

Dear members of the FDU list,

At her request, I am posting the following important communication from 
Prof. Denise Reaume of the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto.

*****

Colleagues will have heard that the Canadian Association of University 
Teachers (CAUT) on April 22 imposed censure 
<https://www.caut.ca/latest/2021/04/caut-council-imposes-rare-censure-against-university-toronto-over-azarova-hiring> 
on the University of Toronto over its decision to terminate the 
candidacy of Dr. Valentina Azarova for the Directorship of the 
International Human Rights Program (IHRP) at the Faculty of Law. The 
consequences of censure are detailed here 
<https://www.caut.ca/about-us/caut-policy/lists/administrative-procedures-and-guidelines/procedures-relating-to-censure>. 
The President’s response is here 
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1weJ2rbf0LrFel2IKug5DjwipxiInqqdb/view?usp=sharing>.

The University tried to stave off censure by commissioning a report on 
the controversy from former Supreme Court Justice Thomas Cromwell. The 
report 
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LZlD6NDN7M2_KE68-frmfrXZyZr9O-fC/view?usp=sharing> 
is flawed by factual inaccuracy and misleading assertions. It failed in 
the ambition to exonerate the administration. In some ways, it made 
matters worse.

The history: In September, 2020, then Dean of Law, Ed Iacobucci 
terminated the hiring process for the Director of the IHRP. Dr. 
Valentina Azarova was the unanimous and enthusiastic choice of the 
selection committee, but negotiations to finalize an offer to her were 
abruptly cut off after communications from a wealthy alumnus, donor, and 
sitting judge made plain that some donors would not tolerate the 
appointment of someone whose scholarship included study of Israeli 
conduct in the occupied Palestinian territories. Members of the search 
committee, and the Program Advisory Committee, resigned in protest. 
Complaints against the conduct of the alumnus—a sitting Federal 
judge—were lodged with the Canadian Judicial Council.

Cromwell was commissioned to determine the basis for the Dean’s decision 
not to proceed with Azarova’s appointment. Cromwell declined to draw any 
inference that the Dean may have been improperly influenced in his 
decision. The University’s response 
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BaSXJANEzrkoRs5MqzxL2Eu0oqD-Xa3L/view?usp=sharing> 
trumpeted the report as vindication of (now former) Dean Iacobucci. 
President Gertler also fully embraces policy recommendations in the 
report that would have destructive effects across the University. This 
response has been now been echoed by the newly appointed Dean, Jutta 
Brunnée.

Cromwell’s assessment is comically inept. Here is an executive summary 
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JVbgzGReZE4cGgqAKpF3sAbGJqqA3TyQ/view?usp=sharing> 
of one critique of his error-laded document; the full analysis ishere 
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/14nCDW6R32E7R80pFtbmrFcDOpJk57xty/view?usp=sharing>. 
Professor Joe Carens, Professor Emeritus, Department of Political 
Science, U of T provides another take on the report: executive summary 
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wV2ySQx3bcsMMiKWPCz1V_ZI_tY5Zpxp/view?usp=sharing>; 
full essay 
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nxlP4O2rONDuc_RwmwrjMXXEi-nY5RV5/view?usp=sharing>. 
Those interested in a deep dive will find informative Caren’s 
annotations 
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gxP09J1sAuKFqJdZl1LrfM1YgcuOBIc7/view?usp=sharing> 
to the Cromwell Report. And Professor Richard Moon 
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1upC-uELjGzNmkXRpp0Hi8u36Sg_z74gO/view?usp=sharing>, 
Faculty of Law, University of Windsor exposes information of which 
Cromwell was aware, but declined to pursue.

Not only does Cromwell absolve the former Dean, he does what he can to 
downplay the shocking attempt by a wealthy donor to derail a University 
appointment by treating it as a simple ‘heads up’ to university 
officials about the unacceptability of a hiring decision to “the Jewish 
community”. Professor Anver Emon provides a detailed analysis of this 
part of the report here 
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w3xWm1I08Ueiy9AMJYrRZsU667AfJFvJ/view?usp=sharing>. 
The bare facts outlined in the report reveal outside VIPs putting in ‘a 
quiet word with University officials.’ Yet the University does not 
seriously acknowledge the need for change.

A further dangerous aspect of Cromwell’s report is its recommendations 
about confidentiality - these would make it harder in future for a 
whistleblower to reveal interference with a search. Professor Ariel Katz 
provides a critique of this part of the report here 
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RGh5JafLP-YTlvaSvK0lWOeoHs7mlvWu/view?usp=sharing>. 


Though the reasons offered in September for terminating the process no 
longer have purchase, the University has so far refused to simply offer 
Dr. Azarova the job. Doing so seems the least the University can do, 
unless it wants to reinforce the impression that donors, not academics, 
call the shots at U of T.

All in all, the Cromwell report is a disaster for academic integrity and 
academic freedom; the University’s response is deeply worrying. Censure 
is not imposed lightly by the CAUT. The University would have us believe 
that there is nothing there; that CAUT is being unreasonable. Don’t buy 
it, at least not without seeing for yourself whether the Cromwell report 
describes an institution of which you want to be a part.

For those wondering what you can do, the most urgent action point is 
putting pressure on the administration to renew negotiations with Dr. 
Azarova. Far be it from me to tell university professors what they 
should say, but just to make life a little bit simpler, here is a rough 
form of words you can use if you are inclined to test whether the 
University really is immune to pressure from donors.

Dear President Gertler,

I support CAUT’s call for the University of Toronto to reopen 
negotiations with Dr. Valentina Azarova to become Director of the 
International Human Rights Program. Mr. Cromwell concluded that 
negotiations were aborted because of her inability to start work quickly 
enough to meet the Faculty’s needs. No one challenged her 
qualifications; everyone said her political views were irrelevant. The 
new Dean has committed to reviving the International Human Rights 
Program, and the Director position remains vacant. There is no 
legitimate reason not to revive her candidacy now and enable her to 
begin in September 2021. Raising new bureaucratic impediments now can 
only fuel the ongoing suspicion that the real reason for not offering 
her the job was and is a desire not to offend donors who object to her 
views.

Censure by CAUT stands to inflict damage on all sectors of the 
University. But the remedy is simple: offer Dr. Azarova the job. Now.


Denise Réaume

Faculty of Law

University of Toronto




-- 
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.physics.utoronto.ca/pipermail/fdu/attachments/20210424/68fcc0b0/attachment-0001.html>