Northwestern’s decision to rescind an offer of an honorary Doctorate of Sacred Theology to U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s controversial former pastor has raised concerns among students and faculty.
Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., former senior minister at the Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago’s South Side, revealed during a Sunday morning sermon in Dallas that University President Henry Bienen called him to withdraw the offer and told him he “was not patriotic,” according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Bienen confirmed in an e-mail Thursday morning that he withdrew the offer from Wright, but said he “never characterized his views in any way.”
“If he is quoted accurately as saying that I rescinded the offer of a degree because he was unpatriotic, that is a flat out lie,” Bienen wrote.
Bienen sent a letter dated March 24 to Wright, formally withdrawing his offer after speaking with Wright earlier that day. A copy of that letter, which Vice President for University Relations Al Cubbage provided to The Daily, says Bienen first extended the degree offer on Nov. 20, 2007. Wright accepted the offer in a letter dated Dec. 18, 2007, according to Bienen’s March letter.
“In light of the controversy surrounding statements made by you that have recently been publicized, the celebratory character of Northwestern’s commencement would be affected by our conferring this honorary degree,” Bienen wrote in March.
In the past few months, videos of provocative statements made by Wright, including the claim that the American government might have deliberately developed the AIDS epidemic to infect the black community, have drawn national attention. Obama, who spoke at NU’s commencement in 2006, publicly broke ties with Wright Tuesday.
Staff at Friendship-West Baptist church in Dallas, where Wright delivered two sermons Sunday, could not confirm Wright mentioned NU specifically, but said he listed several places that had rescinded invitations to him.
Prof. Martha Biondi, director of undergraduate studies of NU’s African American Studies department, said she was “saddened and disappointed” by Bienen’s decision, and said NU should look past Wright’s controversial statements.
“We should see universities as a place in society where we want to encourage tolerance and respect for differences and the airing of controversial views,” she said. “Generally, universities are institutions. We don’t shirk from controversy, we try to understand it, gain deeper knowledge.”
Prof. Carol Lee, an African American Studies professor in the School of Education and Social Policy, also questioned the decision. She said a selection committee had probably determined Wright’s record of service and scholarship was worthy of awarding the degree in the first place.
“Unless there was reason to believe that the record that the committee originally reviewed was somehow incorrect, then I don’t understand the basis for rescinding the offer,” she said.
School of Law Prof. John Elson, chairman of the general faculty committee, said he recalled a discussion of some honorary degrees during a Nov. 7, 2007 committee meeting, but did not remember Wright’s name being mentioned. The general committee voted on honorary degrees during that meeting, according to committee minutes.
An independent committee suggests recipients to the general committee, which then votes on the recommendations, Elson said.
“Usually it’s a formality because usually there’s no one very controversial,” he said.
Between five and eight people have received honorary degrees each year for the last seven years, according to Daily archives.
University Chaplain Timothy Stevens, who has been at NU for almost 22 years, said he remembers “fairly controversial figures” receiving honorary degrees, including then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in 1999.
“There were people who thought that was a wonderful thing and there were people who were ready to protest,” he said.
Although there was a provisional area where protestors could gather, Albright canceled at the last minute due to developments in Kosovo. The area for protestors was “absolutely empty,” Stevens said.
Administrators wanted to avoid the possibility of any disruptions during the commencement ceremony. But those concerns did not justify uninviting Wright, said Communication junior Zachary Parker, the coordinator of For Members Only.
“It’s a microscopic view of how NU has fallen short of standing firm on its decision, being a leader instead of being a follower of thought,” he said.
Parker stressed NU should make a distinction between academics and politics.
“To argue you’re removing someone from a list to receive an honorary degree seems almost hypocritical when you have profs from NU that share a wide range of ideologies and thoughts,” Parker said. “That’s the NU that I know – being proud of its celebration of academics instead of politics.”
But Communication senior Leah Nelson, the campus coordinator for NU’s Students for Obama chapter, said she did not see political undertones in NU’s decision, comparing Wright’s incendiary statements to those made by NU Prof. Arthur Butz, a Holocaust revisionist.
And Leon Mayr, the outgoing chapter president of black-interest fraternity Phi Beta Sigma, said “graduation should be about graduation.”
“I don’t know if we want to be caught up in a national controversy,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
