SUPPORT PROFESSOR NORMAN FINKELSTEIN!

As students of DePaul University, we are insisting that Professor Finkelstein have a fair tenure process. We are confident that a fair process will result in tenure being granted. We are circulating this petition to present to DePaul University's president, Rev. Holtschneider.

We have created this site to inform DePaul students and the broader community about the tenure process and the progress being made in Finkelstein's application. Please sign the petition and keep checking this website. If you would like to write a letter, please email it to us at petition@finkelgate.com, so that we can include it in our submission to President Holtschneider.

Who is Prof. Norman Finkelstein and what is the tenure process?

Dr. Norman Finkelstein, professor of Political Science at DePaul University, has published five books; he travels around the world to appear at events that vary from scholarly lectures to speeches for Palestinian justice groups; and his students regularly give him rave reviews as a teacher. The dean of DePaul's College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at DePaul has even referred to Prof. Finkelstein's classroom as "a 'transformative' experience."

A tenure decision is based upon teaching, scholarship, and service, in decreasing order of importance. When Dr. Finkelstein applied for tenure this year, given all of these strengths, it should have been an easy ride. The process so far has been in his favor, but as the decision nears the top, hurdles have been uncovered. The decision of the Political Science Department was 9-3, supporting his tenure. The College Personnel Committee, of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, voted unanimously (5-0) in his favor. In the past, the dean has always confirmed a unanimous decision. However, this time, Dean Chuck Suchar filed a report against his application for tenure. If tenure is not granted, the professor is dismissed from the University after a one-year grace period. In other words, Dean Suchar recommended that the University fire Norman Finkelstein. Professor Finkelstein's teaching is extraordinary and unassailable, as mentioned above. Suchar claims that the "tone and substance of his scholarship… is inconsistent with DePaul's Vincentian values, especially personalism… as well as our commitment to diversity." The basis of his argument is Professor Finkelstein's personal criticism of those who disagree with him. The "reputable" scholars in his field regularly call him the worst of names and his career has been under attack since it began. Suchar appears to be expecting Finkelstein to hold his tongue and take what he is given. He discards Professor Finkelstein's service as "unimpressive." The Personnel Committee considered his active public speaking schedule a service to the University. Norman Finkelstein is a public intellectual with name recognition around the world, taking seriously the obligation to speak out on behalf of those who cannot speak. What the dean's report suggests is that he just doesn't like what Finkelstein has to say. There are three decisions left. The University Board on Tenure & Promotion, the Provost of the University, and the President, Rev. Holtschneider.