Dive Brief:
- The University of Illinois' flagship campus has settled two lawsuits brought by Steven G. Salaita, who accepted a tenured position in 2014 but never started teaching because his comments on Twitter prompted former chancellor Phyllis Wise to refuse to submit his appointment for approval to the Board of Trustees.
- The Chronicle of Higher Education reports the university will pay $875,000 in the settlements, which will require Salaita does not ever seek or accept employment at the U of I.
- If the settlement placates the AAUP, its censure could not be lifted before next summer, and the Urbana-Champaign campus is still reeling from speaker boycotts in protest of the Salaita case's attack on academic freedom.
Dive Insight:
The response from the scholarly community to the revocation of Salaita's job offer was swift and largely condemnatory. Guest lecturers have refused to visit the campus and The Chronicle reports U of I has had trouble filling faculty positions with qualified candidates, choosing instead to leave positions vacant.
The AAUP voted to censure the university at its meeting last June, saying campus administrators did not respond adequately to concerns over the violation of Salaita's due process rights and campus governance policies. In part because of this scandal, Chancellor Phyllis Wise resigned in August, causing yet another scandal because of her exit package.