August 31, 2009
Alvin G. Burstein, Ph. D.
President, Louisiana Conference, AAUP
Dear Dr. Burstein and Colleagues at LA AAUP,
I want to thank you for your continued support in my appeal of the loss of my tenured position at the University of New Orleans and I want to update you on what has transpired since our meeting last year. While I wish I could present this letter in person, I have professional responsibilities at a Conference that prevents me from attending the Louisiana AAUP meeting this year. Please share my letter and add it to the minutes if you see fit.
In the summer of 2008 it looked as though Denise Strong and I were both making progress at being reinstated or repositioned at UNO. Dr. Strong was in negotiation with the Political Science Department and in January, 2009 she returned to campus. I have not been as fortunate.
I continue my status on unpaid, involuntary leave from my position in the Department of Film, Theatre and Communication Arts. Although the LSU Board of Supervisors has not eliminated the position, UNO has not funded it either. My appeal has been in Baton Rouge since Fall, 2007 when I wrote sent appeal documents to Dr. Jenkins and later to Dr. Lombardi asking for a review of my case. After the 2007 reports were filed, I heard nothing. I spoke at length with Carolyn Hargrave, Vice President for Academic Affairs of the Louisiana State University System in June, 2008 as the fiscal year was drawing to a close. She gave me encouragement on the phone and via email, said there were quite a few cases on her desk and that she would have to send my case for outside review as Film and Communications are outside of her area of expertise. By the Fall of 2008 I had heard nothing further from Dr. Hargrave, but I got a bulk email from Chancellor Ryan’s office announcing search committees for three positions in Academic Affairs at the University of New Orleans. I forwarded Dr. Hargrave the position announcements and she replied by email: Thanks for your patience. I have had no further communication from UNO or Baton Rouge.
In January 2009, the Department of Film Theatre and Communication Arts posted a position announcement on their website for an endowed professorship in Entertainment Arts. Carefully avoiding the use of the disciplinary terms Communication or Media, but clearly falling within range of my expertise in media studies and Communication Arts. The position offers $100,000 starting salary, generous travel allowance and a commitment of a 2 course annual load. A Ph.D. is desirable but not necessary and there is no mention of the need for any program of research. I’m certain that I was not considered for the job, outside of the language choices made in drafting the position announcement. It is clear to me that what they want to hire is a professional film producer to teach a course in media business and to represent UNO films at film festivals. It is clear that this position has been in the works for some time and that this was part of the rationale for eliminating my role in Media Studies three years ago. My appeal narratives have asserted Media Business as one of my areas of expertise for the last three years.
I forwarded the position announcement to Dr. Hargrave’s office in an email in January but to date I have received no response. I fear without deadlines, the LSU system has no incentive to objectively review my case, restore my position, or to reposition me in a role appropriate to my skills and training.
I understand that at the meeting on April 4th, the Louisiana Conference of the AAUP will be reporting on censure-related issues. I am interested in learning what happened in the remainder of cases and what issues are still not resolved. By my own estimates, of the 80 or so faculty furloughed at UNO, after three years only 7 were reinstated, most in 2006 when some Departments broke ranks with the administration. There could be as many as 70 lawsuits pending or already settled related to tenure disputes with the State of Louisiana from UNO alone. It is my hope that the AAUP will follow up on the status of tenure violations and what steps may have been taken to restore tenure rights and ensure faculty governance.
Additionally, the AAUP could help by providing any relevant data they may have collected that might help those stuck at this stage of the process. Is there a report, for example, on the demographics of terminated faculty, or on income disparity between those who were terminated and those retained? Any information that has not already come to my attention could be useful. For example, as far as I know UNO’s Policy Committee has been virtually silent although two members from the committee sat on every appeal hearing at UNO.
I have spent the last three years teaching as an adjunct with the title of Visiting Associate Professor at Xavier University of Louisiana. I have similarly associated with Tulane University for Fall, 2009, but I hope to find resolution this year so that I can move forward. I believe my career has been greatly harmed by this interval and I am anxious for a resolution.
Once again, I’d like to thank you all for upholding faculty rights and for your continued support of my cause. I am happy to provide any additional detail I might have excluded. For now I can be reached by mail and at the email addresses below.
Sincerely,
Wendy J. Hajjar
whajjar@uno.edu 2357 Magazine Street # 6
whajjar@xula.edu New Orleans, LA
whajjar@tulane.edu 70130