Kenneth Howell, an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois, was told this week that his contract would not be renewed. That isn’t unusual; universities are relying more and more on non-tenured professors to control costs give them more flexibility.
What is (hopefully) unusual about this non-renewal is that the professor in question seems to have been let go for offending someone. He sent an email to his students, expounding on the application of Catholic doctrine to homosexuality. The question that prompted the message came from one of his classes; “Introduction to Catholicism” and “Modern Catholic Thought”.
So it isn’t difficult to say that he was let go for teaching… the subject of the class. In fact I’m having a hard time seeing it any other way. The complaining student accused him of “hate speech” (read the email and see if you agree). It seems he was offended by the actual content of the class he signed up for.
If nothing else, the university has handed conservative bloviators something to yammer about on Fox.
NOTES:
- Conservative pundits also love to bemoan the allegedly all-liberal makeup of college faculties, but it’s all in their fevered minds. Most college faculties are a mix, perhaps intentionally so. Working on a campus I know a lot of professors; if it takes all kinds, we’re in good shape.
- To say that I disagreed with the professor’s email would be quite an understatement, but never mind that. One of the reasons for going to college is to encounter people who actually do understand the world in a very different way than you do.
If that’s hate speech, then I’m Hitler. Whoever protested that is stupid. Sorry, there’s no other way to say it. As are those who decided against renewing the contract.
Note: the captcha for my comment is “church”.
I plowed through the almost incomprehensible email, and suspect the guy was canned for being an idiot.
By the way,I think that when universities, particularly public universities, even have courses about “theology,” there is the stink of hypocrisy.
“Introduction to Catholicism,” and “Modern Catholic Thought” are not topics of any use if we are trying to teach anything about thinking or modernism. If thinking and religion have any direct connection, I’m unaware of it.
There are plenty of institutions which are run by religious outfits, and they can “teach” what they want.
Must agree the guy’s a idiot, but he’s teaching Catholic theology. Wonder why the University of Illinois has such a class in the first place?