Two weeks after being told he will not be allowed to teach his Investigative Journalism class in the spring, 29-year Medill Prof. David Protess announced Tuesday he will leave Northwestern for the quarter.
Protess, the high-profile director of the Medill Innocence Project, will use personal leave, which he is entitled to as a University professor, to “establish a nonprofit organization devoted to investigative reporting of criminal justice issues,” according to a statement.
In an interview Tuesday morning Protess said that the mission of the new initiative, to be called the Chicago Innocence Project, will closely resemble that of the Medill Innocence Project, which has freed 12 innocent men from prison, including five from death row, since Protess started it in 1996.
Protess said it will be staffed by students from Chicago area schools, including Northwestern. He plans for students to receive course credit for full-time and part-time internships with the project.
“My goal is to launch a project that I think Chicago needs – an autonomous Innocence Project,” Protess said. “But that doesn’t mean I’ll stay to direct it. I’ll revisit my future at the end of the spring,”
He added that though the initiative will be completely independent of NU, he hopes the University will recognize the project as a valid journalism residency for Medill students.
University spokesman Al Cubbage released a written statement Tuesday afternoon enumerating the terms of Protess‘s leave and reiterating that the class will continue without Protess for the quarter,.
The statement, the full text of which can be read below, said that Protess will not serve as head of the Medill Innocence Project nor have any faculty obligations to the University during spring quarter.
“This doesn’t in any way sever my ties to NU,” Protess said. “It simply allows me to have the time to do something…it does not compete with MIP (Medill Innocence Project).”
The University has been conducting a “review” of the “actions and practices” of Protess and the Innocence Project since last fall, amid allegations by Cook County prosecutors that Innocence Project students crossed ethical boundaries in investigating wrongful convictions.
Tensions between Protess and the administration have run high since the fall, as the University decided to reverse course and comply with prosecutors’ subpoena of thousands of student documents related to the Innocence Project’s investigation of convicted murderer Anthony McKinney. Protess has refused to turn over any documents.
The tension came to a head earlier this month as Medill Dean John Lavine informed Protess that he would be replaced as professor of the Investigative Journalism course in the spring by Medill Prof. Alec Klein, a former investigative business journalist at The Washington Post and best-selling author.
Cubbage and Protess publicly feuded following the decision on March 17. In a statement released the next day Cubbage did not directly address the professor switch and instead commented on the ongoing McKinney investigation as well as the University’s continuing “review” of “Professor Protess and the actions and practices of the Innocence Project.”
“The work of Professor Protess and the Medill Innocence Project has gained national recognition and brought credit to Northwestern and Medill. More importantly, that work has helped free wrongfully convicted individuals from prison. However, the laudable goal of the Innocence Project would not justify any improper actions that may have been taken by Professor Protess,” the statement concluded.
Protess responded to Cubbage’s statement on March 18 with an email to The Daily countering the allegation of ‘improper action.’
“The primary ‘improper action’ in this case was the failure of the university’s lawyers to promptly image our computers to find out whose memory about the documents was accurate,” wrote Protess, referring to the disconnect between the two entities’ responses to the subpoena. “It is apparently easier to cast blame elsewhere than to accept responsibility for mistakes that we both share.”
Protess said Tuesday morning that he would reevaluate his plans for teaching at NU once spring quarter is over and he can take measure of his new initiative. He noted that the Innocence Network, which connects organizations that provide pro bono legal and investigative work targeted at redressing wrongful convictions, took nearly two years to establish.
“My future plans are indefinite…it will depend in large measure on where the Chicago Innocence Project stands in June,” Protess said. “(It is) unrealistic to expect that I will be able to fully launch Chicago Innocence Project in just one quarter, that’s why the timing is so good because I have summer too.”
In his statement, Protess praised the “students, faculty and alumni” of NU.
“Of course, my heart will always be at Northwestern, a university whose students, faculty and alumni are among the finest in the country,” he wrote. “For now, the leave sure feels good.”
The text of Protess‘s full statement:
“I have decided to take a leave of absence from Northwestern during Spring quarter to establish a nonprofit organization devoted to investigative reporting of criminal justice issues. The organization will be the first of its kind to investigate and expose wrongful convictions and related problems. Of course, my heart will always be at Northwestern, a university whose students, faculty and alumni are among the finest in the country. For now, the leave sure feels good.”
The text of Cubbage’s full statement:
“Professor David Protess will be on leave from Northwestern University for Spring Quarter 2011. While on leave, Professor Protess will have no faculty responsibilities, including teaching or serving as Director of the Medill Innocence Project. During the Spring Quarter, the important work of both the class on investigative journalism and of the Innocence Project will continue under the direction of Medill investigative journalist and tenured full professor Alec Klein.”
