Joel Seligman, president of the university, issued a statement in which he focused not on the policy questions of health insurance, but on the tone with which a professor had attacked a student at another university. “I am outraged that any professor would demean a student in this fashion,” Seligman said. “To openly ridicule, mock, or jeer a student in this way is about the most offensive thing a professor can do. We are here to educate, to nurture, to inspire, not to engage in character assassination.”
“Landsburg now has made himself newsworthy as one of Limbaugh’s few defenders. I wish he had focused instead on the ideal of a university as an institution that promotes the free exchange of ideas and lively debate at its best in an atmosphere of civil discourse in which the dignity of every individual is respected,” added Seligman.
The Rochester president further noted that “Professor Landsburg has the right to express his views under our University’s deep commitment to academic freedom. And, of course, no reasonable person would ever assume that he speaks for the University of Rochester.”
Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/03/08/rochester-professor-sets-debate-rush-limbaugh#ixzz1oXPTcItV
Inside Higher Ed
Join the conversation as a VIP Member