Denial of tenure to NTU associate professor sparks outcry - Yahoo! News Singapore
Denial of tenure to NTU associate professor sparks outcry
An outspoken associate professor for journalism in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has been denied tenure, sparking an outcry and raising questions over academic freedom in Singapore.
Cardiff University professor Karin Wahl-Jorgensen tweeted Saturday morning that Cherian George, associate professor at NTUs Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI), was denied tenure on the grounds of quality of teaching and research.
In subsequent tweets, Wahl-Jorgensen, who revealed that she was one of the reviewers for Georges case, said she was outraged at the decision not to grant him tenure, and that it could have been because he sometimes expressed political opinions.
An adjunct senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies and former journalist with The Straits Times, George has spoken out against media control and has been critical of the ruling Peoples Action Party. He joined NTU in 2004.
Wahl-Jorgensen alluded to NTUs decision being detrimental for academic freedom and said it raised big question marks about international collaborations with Singapore and NTU.
She said also said Georges application was watertight and believed the boards decision made no sense on grounds of research and teaching.
Tenure would give him the contractual right not to have his position terminated without just cause. George was previously denied tenure once in 2009 when he was promoted to the position of associate professor. Typically, academic promotions are accompanied by tenures.
Petition started
In reaction to the news, an online petition was set up by final-year WKWSCI student Bhavan Jaipragas to urge the NTU board to affirm (Georges) stellar teaching credentials and disclose the reasons behind the decision to deny his tenure. The petition had 308 signatures as of press time.
We felt it was very important any impression that Dr George's teaching skills were sub-par had to be quickly demolished. We also want the school and university to categorically dispel claims of curtailment of academic freedom in NTU, said Bhavan to Yahoo! Singapore.
Bhavan said he heard of the news from several sources over the weekend, before such tipoffs were confirmed by Wahl-Jorgensens tweets. He said he will deliver hard copies of the petition with the list of signatories to four key members of the NTU leadership, including NTU president Bertil Andersson.
In one of the petitions comments, associate professor William Ray Lengenbach, head of media at Sunway University College, said, Cherian George is a significant regional intellectual and his views on Singapore politics should have no bearing on his tenure. If there indeed is government pressure on the university's decisions, it is time for academic staff and administration to stand up against such pressures.
Among the students who have spoken out against the alleged grounds, alumnus Johnson Zhang commended George for being friendly and knowledgeable. To say that the quality of Dr George's teaching was 'sub-par' would be an insult to us graduates who had the honour of learning from him, said Zhang.
As someone who has worked with Dr George for close to two decades, I am dumbfounded by the news. I don't know of many professors in NTU who give as much to the students, even fewer who have clear vision of how a great journalism department in an university can be and should be, said WKWSCI photojournalism lecturer Tay Kay Chin in a post on Facebook.
George declined comment when approached by Yahoo! Singapore.
When contacted by Yahoo! Singapore, an NTU spokesperson said the institution will issue a statement Tuesday.
Last year, the issue of academic freedom was raised in relation to the launch of the Yale-NUS College, a partnership with Yale University and the National University of Singapore (NUS). Yale members passed a resolution expressing their concern restriction of civil liberties in Singapore.
Denial of tenure to NTU associate professor sparks outcry
An outspoken associate professor for journalism in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has been denied tenure, sparking an outcry and raising questions over academic freedom in Singapore.
Cardiff University professor Karin Wahl-Jorgensen tweeted Saturday morning that Cherian George, associate professor at NTUs Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI), was denied tenure on the grounds of quality of teaching and research.
In subsequent tweets, Wahl-Jorgensen, who revealed that she was one of the reviewers for Georges case, said she was outraged at the decision not to grant him tenure, and that it could have been because he sometimes expressed political opinions.
An adjunct senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies and former journalist with The Straits Times, George has spoken out against media control and has been critical of the ruling Peoples Action Party. He joined NTU in 2004.
Wahl-Jorgensen alluded to NTUs decision being detrimental for academic freedom and said it raised big question marks about international collaborations with Singapore and NTU.
She said also said Georges application was watertight and believed the boards decision made no sense on grounds of research and teaching.
Tenure would give him the contractual right not to have his position terminated without just cause. George was previously denied tenure once in 2009 when he was promoted to the position of associate professor. Typically, academic promotions are accompanied by tenures.
Petition started
In reaction to the news, an online petition was set up by final-year WKWSCI student Bhavan Jaipragas to urge the NTU board to affirm (Georges) stellar teaching credentials and disclose the reasons behind the decision to deny his tenure. The petition had 308 signatures as of press time.
We felt it was very important any impression that Dr George's teaching skills were sub-par had to be quickly demolished. We also want the school and university to categorically dispel claims of curtailment of academic freedom in NTU, said Bhavan to Yahoo! Singapore.
Bhavan said he heard of the news from several sources over the weekend, before such tipoffs were confirmed by Wahl-Jorgensens tweets. He said he will deliver hard copies of the petition with the list of signatories to four key members of the NTU leadership, including NTU president Bertil Andersson.
In one of the petitions comments, associate professor William Ray Lengenbach, head of media at Sunway University College, said, Cherian George is a significant regional intellectual and his views on Singapore politics should have no bearing on his tenure. If there indeed is government pressure on the university's decisions, it is time for academic staff and administration to stand up against such pressures.
Among the students who have spoken out against the alleged grounds, alumnus Johnson Zhang commended George for being friendly and knowledgeable. To say that the quality of Dr George's teaching was 'sub-par' would be an insult to us graduates who had the honour of learning from him, said Zhang.
As someone who has worked with Dr George for close to two decades, I am dumbfounded by the news. I don't know of many professors in NTU who give as much to the students, even fewer who have clear vision of how a great journalism department in an university can be and should be, said WKWSCI photojournalism lecturer Tay Kay Chin in a post on Facebook.
George declined comment when approached by Yahoo! Singapore.
When contacted by Yahoo! Singapore, an NTU spokesperson said the institution will issue a statement Tuesday.
Last year, the issue of academic freedom was raised in relation to the launch of the Yale-NUS College, a partnership with Yale University and the National University of Singapore (NUS). Yale members passed a resolution expressing their concern restriction of civil liberties in Singapore.