St. Thomas and Archbishop Tutu

On the surface at least--and perhaps all the way down--it seems as if the powers-that-be at the University of St. Thomas have made a monumentally stupid decision.  Read on ...

Chronicle of Higher Education
Thursday, October 4, 2007

A Minnesota University's Decision Not to Invite Archbishop Tutu as a Speaker Brings Disappointment

By ANNA WEGGEL

The University of St. Thomas, in Minnesota, has declined an opportunity to invite Archbishop Desmond Tutu to speak at a conference next spring, spurring disappointment and outrage among faculty members and affiliated university groups. The university says it was concerned about past comments from the South African civil-rights leader that some people considered anti-Semitic.  [Archbishop Tutu has been critical of some policies of the Israeli government toward the Palestinians.  --mp]

Each year the university co-sponsors a spring conference with PeaceJam, an international organization for young people that promotes justice and peace. The group invites Nobel Peace Prize laureates to speak to young people, and Archbishop Tutu, winner of the 1984 prize, had been approached about appearing next spring.

But when university administrators learned of that proposal, they declined to invite him, withdrawing a major source of support for the appearance. And a St. Thomas professor who sent a letter to Archbishop Tutu explaining the university's stance and expressing her disapproval of the decision was stripped of her title as chair of the institution's Justice and Peace Studies Program this summer. University administrators confirmed the demotion of Cris Toffolo, an associate professor of political science, but gave no details other than to say it had to do with the situation concerning Archbishop Tutu.

In explaining the decision not to invite Archbishop Tutu to speak, Doug E. Hennes, St. Thomas's vice president for university and government relations, said the South African clergyman had never been officially booked. He said that interest in inviting the archbishop to speak had been brought to the administration, which then conducted its customary screening and background checks for speakers at conferences of that size. University officials talked to Jewish contacts inside and outside the university, he said, and determined they did not want to promote someone whose presence could offend people of Jewish faith.

"We didn't want to use our financial resources and space and facilities and personnel to bring someone here who has said things that were hurtful to the Jewish community," said Jim Winterer, director of the university's news service. "We didn't want to contribute to that hurt."

The university's failure to support Archbishop Tutu's speech is disappointing for some. Ms. Toffolo, the professor who lost her position leading as the peace-studies program, saw the issue as reflecting a larger problem in society.

"We've seen people being denied tenure elsewhere, hires tested, and conferences canceled when people raise criticism of Israeli state policy. We have to have this debate," Ms. Toffolo said. "Until we stop silencing speech about this subject, the academy is going to be in trouble. This is one issue where academic freedom is compromised."

PeaceJam, which is planning to go forward with Archbishop Tutu's speech with alternative financial support, hopes officials at St. Thomas might change their minds. The university "should invite the archbishop to their campus and engage in a dialogue and debate," said Ivan Suvanjieff, president of PeaceJam. "The man is not anti-Semitic. I encourage the university to invite him and do the debate."