1 October 29, 2018 Dr. Mark Schlissel President, University of Michigan

October 29, 2018 Dr. Mark Schlissel President, University of Michigan 503 Thompson Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1340 Dear President Schlissel: We write you as scholars from Columbia and Stanford Universities who share grave concerns about the University of Michigan’s decision to impose serious discipline on a member of its faculty, Professor John Cheney-Lippold, who sought to uphold the University’s core value of equality in educational opportunity by declining to write a letter of recommendation for a student applying for a study abroad program in Israel. The University of Michigan has distinguished itself as a leader in protecting the twin rights of non-discrimination and diversity in the university setting, especially in its very public role defending admissions policies designed to create a diverse student body in Grutter v. Bollinger before the Supreme Court. It is our belief that Professor Cheney- Lippold was upholding this tradition when he informed a student that his commitment to furthering equality in education and human rights for all rendered him unable to supply her with a letter of recommendation for study in Israel. It is widely known that persons of Palestinian or Arab nationality are systematically denied entry to Israel, subject to enhanced interrogation at points of entry to Israel, and/or are profiled and discriminated against when seeking visas or other terms of entry into the state of Israel. Similar forms of discriminatory treatment have been meted out to students from the U.S. who have voiced any critical views of Israel’s human rights record and who seek to study in Israel. As has been widely reported, in early October the Israeli government denied entry to a Palestinian-American student from the U.S. who held a visa to study at the Hebrew University, and she was held in bed bug ridden detention at the Tel Aviv airport for almost two weeks on the grounds that she has been involved in campus organizing critical of Israel. She was permitted to enter Israel only after she denounced any connection to organizations that have criticized Israel’s human rights record. The University of Michigan’s Regent’s Bylaws and the University’s policies on “Discrimination and Harassment” articulate a very strong commitment “to maintain an academic and work environment free of discrimination and harassment for all students.” Indeed, the policy specifically states that prohibited discrimination includes contexts in which a person’s national origin “is used as the basis for or a factor in decisions affecting that individual’s employment, education, living environment or participation in a University activity.” The first example provided in this policy states that: “Denying a person access to an educational program based on that person’s … national origin” constitutes conduct that amounts to prohibited discrimination under the University’s rules. 1 This was the precise situation Professor Cheney-Lippold faced when asked to support the application of a student for study in Israel: a request that he lend his professional reputation and academic expertise to a program that openly denies students access to educational opportunities based on the students’ national origin. Professor Cheney- Lippold was required to swear to the following when he began his employment at the University of Michigan: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State of Michigan. And that I will faithfully discharge the duties of my position, according to the best of my ability.” We believe that Professor Cheney-Lippold understood himself to be fulfilling this oath when he was faced with a request that he participate in a discriminatory educational program – the study abroad program in Israel. What is more, the University of Michigan’s actions against Professor Cheney-Lippold violate the First Amendment free speech protections insofar as the University has disciplined him for speaking on matters of public concern, and now attempts to censor his speech on the relation of his teaching to his views on human rights in Israel/Palestine. Finally, the actions taken by the University of Michigan raise serious problems of due process, as noted by a recent opinion letter from the American Association of University Professors. At the time John Cheney-Lippold declined to write a letter of recommendation, neither the University of Michigan nor the AAUP had any rule that mandated professors write such letters. Yet on October 3, Elizabeth Cole, the interim dean of the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts, wrote Cheney-Lippold a disciplinary letter. In the letter she states, “Your conduct has fallen far short of the University’s and College’s expectations for how LSA faculty interact with and treat students… This letter is a strong warning that your behavior in this circumstance was inappropriate and will not be tolerated.” She also informed him that because of his action, he would not receive a merit raise, would be deprived of sabbaticals, and might be dismissed from the university if “a similar incident occurs in the future.” Given these circumstances we object to the University’s decision to impose serious discipline on Professor Cheney-Lippold. That discipline should be rescinded and the University should recognize that Professor Cheney-Lippold was acting to protect the right to equal educational opportunity of all University of Michigan students, in keeping with University policies. Signed:∗ Joel Beinin Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History and Professor of Middle East History Emeritus Stanford University ∗ Affiliations provided for identification purposes only. 2 Jessica Collins Associate Professor Department of Philosophy Columbia University Patricia A. Dailey Dr. Patricia Dailey, Ph.D. Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature Columbia University Ann Douglas Parr Professor Emerita of English and Comparative Literature Columbia University Nadia Abu El-Haj Professor, Department of Anthropology & Co-Director, The Center for Palestine Studies Columbia University Katherine Franke Sulzbacher Professor of Law Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies, Institute for Research on Women, Gender and Sexuality Columbia University Jack Halberstam Professor of English and Gender Studies Columbia University Michael Harris Professor of Mathematics Columbia University Joseph A. Howley Associate Professor of Classics Columbia University Tom Kalin Professor Columbia University School of the Arts, Film Jeremy Kessler Associate Professor of Law Columbia University 3 Rashid Khalidi Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies Columbia University Tovah P. Klein, Ph.D. Adj. Associate Professor, Psychology Barnard College Gregory Mann Professor, History Department Columbia University Joseph Massad Professor, MESAAS Columbia University Brinkley Messick Professor of Anthropology Columbia University David Palumbo-Liu Louise Hewlett Nixon Professor and Professor of Comparative Literature Stanford University Gregory M. Pflugfelder Associate Professor EALAC / History Columbia University Sheldon Pollock Arvind Raghunathan Professor of Sanskrit and South Asian Studies Columbia University Rush Rehm Professor, Theater and Performance Studies, and Classics, Artistic Director, Stanford Repertory Theater (SRT) Stanford University Bruce Robbins Old Dominion Foundation Professor in the Humanities Columbia Univeristy James Schamus Professor of Professional Practice Columbia University School of the Arts 4 Michael Taussig Class of 1933 Professor of Anthropology Columbia University Gray Tuttle Leila Hadley Luce Professor of Modern Tibetan Studies Columbia University Marc Van De Mieroop History Department Columbia University 5 .

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