Tenured professor, Abdulkader Sinno, was suspended at the end of the fall semester for what administrators are calling a threat to campus safety. However, the suspension raised concerns among faculty, staff and students.

IU administrators claim that Professor Sinno created a threat to campus safety when he filled out a room reservation form on behalf of a pro-Palestinian student group. University officials said a lack of security for the event due to the way the form was filled out created too significant of an issue for the event to proceed, and they asked that the Palestine Solidarity Committee cancel the speaker just days before it was set to happen.

The speaking event was held despite these concerns and went on without incident.

IU’s Associate Vice President for Public Safety, Ben Hunter, filed a complaint against Professor Sinno on the day of the speaking event. This complaint lead the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs, Carrie Docherty, to suspended professor Sinno from his teaching duties for the fall and summer semesters.

However, his case did not go before a Faculty Misconduct Review Board before the decision to suspend him was made which multiple other faculty members identified as a breach in procedure on the part of the administration.

The two main issues being raised over the events surrounding Professor Sinno’s suspension concerned freedom of speech and the violation of university procedure.

Professor Sinno is allowed to appeal the decision made by VPFAA Carrie Docherty. If he does, a board of faculty will review the case and make a recommendation to the Provost on what they believe should be done.

 

IU Administrators addressed the issue of Sinno’s suspension at a faculty council meeting earlier this month.

Docherty countered the idea that procedure had been violated in Sinnos suspension by citing statistics involving 9 cases over the past year in which a professor had been removed from teaching duties. She said of those 9 cases only two had gone before a Faculty Misconduct Review Board.

 

 

Even if Sinno appeals his case and the faculty board of review sides with him, Provost Rahul Shrivastav will have the final say in how the appeal is handled.

While an appeal could function to rectify his suspension, it would not address what many in the campus community are calling a silencing of pro-Palestinian voices.

Pro-Palestinian groups and various faculty have pointed to Sinno’s suspension as the first in a series of events which they claim are dampening free speech and pro-palestinian voices on campus.

 

UPDATE:

Professor Sinno’s appeal was heard by the Faculty Board of Review on March 25th. The review board sided with Sinno, saying that VPFAA Carrie Docherty had violated university procedures in suspending professor him without sending his case before a  misconduct committee.

While this decision is a win for Sinno, the case is still awaiting a decision from the Provost, Rahul Shrivastav.