As I have been deluged with expressions of concern, friendship, and surprise regarding my abrupt removal as Echols Dean, I have decided to offer a public explanation to our community.
On January 14, I was summoned to a meeting with Dean Edward Ayers.At this meeting, at which neither my immediate superior nor representatives of any other University offices were present, I was informed that I was being removed from my post on the grounds of allegations of perceived impropriety in my behavior towards unspecified students.The action was immediate with no formal period of notice. Additionally, I was informed that my University contract, which expires in 2007, would not be renewed on these grounds.I was issued a letter, which I can only assume will be made a part of my personnel file, that these actions were taken on the express grounds of "repeated complaints of inappropriate behavior."
In a popular phrase, I was shocked and awed both by the news and the nature of its communication to me.Prior to entering the Dean's office that Friday afternoon, I had heard of no complaints against me, had not been contacted by any University official or private attorney, and had been confronted with no accusations. News that the Lawn would soon be paved would have come as less surprising to me. While the Dean has unquestioned power to remove me as Echols Dean, reassign me to other duties, and refuse a contract renewal, I perceive the explicit justification of such action on the perception of impropriety as an attack on my character.
Mr. Ayers did not offer specifics, and thus I have had no opportunity to confront a potential accuser and defend myself from attacks on my reputation.The University offers a sophisticated, fair, and impartial investigative process through the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs.Moreover, any citizen can seek redress for harm through civil courts of law.When I inquired as to how the potential allegations were investigated and proven, I was offered no explanation.I therefore have no knowledge of any potential accusers, the nature of their complaints, and no opportunity to offer evidence in my defense.
For the record, I have no reason to feel ashamed of the nature of my conduct towards students in my ten years of teaching at the University and I have every expectation that my teaching and mentoring would withstand rigorous public scrutiny. My extensive interactions with students in and out of the classroom have been the source of great joy to me and the genesis of many lasting friendships. Indeed, my cherished times of playing chess on the Lawn, conversing on the Corner, and taking a personal interest in the lives of my students have been publicly documented and praised in the pages of The Cavalier Daily.Additionally, my conduct in this regard is no different from similar and well-documented actions on the part of many of the University's most popular professors, and thus I have always felt safe in the knowledge that I was in such good company.While some may see any close relationships between students, professors, and administrators as the "appearance of a conflict of interest," I see it as the vital humanism of academic life.Regardless, such issues should be openly debated in Old Cabell or the Amphitheater rather than be secretly deployed as the basis of dismissal.
Any member of the academic community would be deeply troubled by the implications and potential consequences of this action.The unprecedented suddenness of my reassignment--especially coming in the same month I was prominently featured in the College's alumni magazine for my Echols work--and cool official statements would only fuel speculation of egregious wrongdoing that travels quickly in the small world of academia and rapidly renders a professor unemployable. While I initially offered statements of no comment and reflected carefully upon the situation, as I was confronted by the expressions of incredulity and warmth by my students and colleagues my conscience grew ill at the acquiescence suggested by my neutralism.While openly discussing such matters is exceptionally difficult for me, I believe that setting the record straight at least ends the endless torrent of rumor and innuendo that have contributed to this situation.With the full support of my wife and my closest friends in the University, I speak so as not to be complicit in dishonorable behavior and to end whispered assaults on my character.
Were this matter solely about me, an individual professor, it would be unpardonably arrogant to speak of it to the community. However, larger issues of process and procedure are at stake that could impact many others. At Mr. Jefferson's University, of all places, there can be no toleration for innuendo, rumor, hearsay, and anonymous threats of any nature to torpedo a career or to challenge the presumption of integrity that the Honor pledge implies.Such behavior strikes at the very core of the community of trust that binds us as an institution and in my opinion the precedent it establishes can only be described as chilling.Due process, accountability, and basic fairness are principles upon which I have attempted to live my life and about which I lecture in my classroom.To depart from them now and furtively slink away from the University under cover of official secrecy and suspicion would go against the very core of my being.As a dear friend recently told me, sunshine is the best disinfectant.
To that end, I call upon Dean Ayers or anyone with allegations against me to either substantiate them through fair due process or to have the decency to retract them and offer an apology to me and those colleagues also affected by this action. Moreover, until found guilty of impropriety through University adjudication or private legal action, I respectfully request my full and immediate reinstatement to my position as Echols Dean.Naturally, should any allegations be proved, I will immediately resign.As of this writing, I have not even been formally accused, let alone convicted.
Regardless of the impact on my career, I sincerely hope that the University I love may somehow benefit from this sudden and surprising news. A full and robust debate in our community regarding professional standards and behavior may have the salutary effect of creating procedural safeguards that will protect my colleagues and our successors from a similar fate. Any professor or administrator with constant and close interaction with students and their families is incessantly vulnerable to accusation, especially in cases of disciplinary action.Perhaps my words today will lead to increased transparency, accountability, and due process procedures that will help all of us, faculty and students alike, in their work on behalf of the University and to fulfill Jefferson's goal of reducing the power of arbitrariness in our civil affairs.Regardless, I am proud of the work I have done here and I thank all of you for the acts of kindness and friendship you have shown me.I will never forget them.
Sincerely,
James R. Sofka
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