Letter to the University of San Diego
Letter to the University of San Diego Supporting Academic Freedom and Rosemary Radford Ruether
Mary E. Lyons, Ph.D., President
Julie Sullivan, Ph.D., Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
University of San Diego, 5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, CA 92110
Dear President Lyons and Vice President Sullivan,
We, the undersigned scholars and activists invited by the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER) and the Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC), write to express our deep distress over your rescinding of an invitation accepted by Professor Rosemary Radford Ruether, Ph.D., to be the holder of the Monsignor John R. Portman Chair in Roman Catholic Theology for 2009-2010.
As we understand the case, Dr. Lance Nelson, Chair of the University of San Diego (USD) Department of Theology and Religious Studies, offered an initial, informal invitation to Professor Ruether to occupy the Portman Chair in a letter dated January 21, 2008. Negotiations were undertaken and a formal invitation was officially extended in a letter from Nicholas M. Healy, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, on April 30, 2008 requesting that Ruether indicate her acceptance, which she did. According to the Department’s Web page, it was "pleased to announce that Professor Rosemary Radford Ruether, leading Church historian and pioneering figure in Christian feminist theology, has accepted appointment to the Monsignor John R. Portman Chair in Roman Catholic Theology for 2009-2010."
In mid-July, Professor Ruether received a call from Vice President Sullivan canceling the agreement allegedly because the donor of the chair had a "certain vision" that Ruether presumably did not share. Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs Pamela Gray Payton, speaking for USD, stated: "Upon review of the specific purpose of the Monsignor John R. Portman Chair in Roman Catholic Theology, the University of San Diego is no longer considering the appointment of Dr. Rosemary Radford Ruether as the 2009-2010 Chair holder."
We are deeply concerned by this turn of events both because it is insulting to Professor Rosemary Radford Ruether and because of what it portends for academic freedom in a Catholic institution. According to the official announcement of the Monsignor John R. Portman Chair in Roman Catholic Theology, "The Portman Endowment allows the department to bring an eminent theologian to the University of San Diego for one or two semesters. As envisioned by the donor and Msgr. Portman, chairholders are to be distinguished theologians who think from within the Roman Catholic tradition while exploring and expressing the tradition in contemporary contexts."
Professor Ruether clearly satisfies this description as a Catholic scholar in good standing. While scholars might engage in critical dialogue with Ruether’s position on a variety of theological points—conduct that is wholly appropriate in an academic context—in fact, the Catholic tradition is broad and expansive, filled with theological differences and disagreements, but rich in its diversity. Academic freedom in Catholic institutions involves acceptance of and respect for such diversity.
We are dismayed that a decision made by the faculty, an offer officially extended by the dean and accepted by a professor, and publicized by the department would be overturned by university administrators for reasons that are unclear but seemingly ideological. We consider it unacceptable that any scholar, much less one of Professor Rosemary Radford Ruether’s world class status, would be treated in such a cavalier and disrespectful way by an institution. Of primary importance, we feel the chilling effect of the erosion of academic freedom that this case raises in a Catholic institution. We note that during his recent visit to the United States Pope Benedict XVI stated, "In regard to faculty members at Catholic colleges and universities, I wish to reaffirm the great value of academic freedom. In virtue of this freedom you are called to search for the truth wherever careful analysis of evidence leads you."
We urge that you, on behalf of the University of San Diego, embrace one of the following remedies to this violation of the spirit of academic freedom:
1. The University of San Diego honor the offer made by Dean Healy to Professor Ruether to be the 2009-2010 holder of the Monsignor John R. Portman Chair in Roman Catholic Theology with an appropriate apology for this incident.
2. USD engage Professor Ruether to deliver the Portman Lecture on the matter of academic freedom in Catholic higher education. As a part of the commitment, she would remain on campus for a week of substantive discussion with faculty, students, administrators, and interested colleagues about what this means in the twenty-first century and how to operationalize it at USD.
In either case, we urge USD to compensate Professor Ruether with the full payment originally negotiated and set forth in the formal invitation.
Thank you for your consideration of our concerns and proposed remedies. We look forward to a timely resolution lest not only the reputation of the University of San Diego but of all Catholic institutions that respect academic freedom suffer greatly.
Sincerely,
Mary E. Hunt, Co-director, Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER)
Aisha Taylor, Executive Director, Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC)
USD Faculty Members:
Brian R. Clack
Kim Eherenman
Angelo R. Orona Alvarez
Maria Pilar Aquino
Harriet Baber
Susie Paulik Babka
Dwight Bean
Eren Branch
Michelle M. Camacho
Cynthia Caywood
Ellen Colangelo
J.A. Colombo
Jack Crumley
David Devine
Del Dickson
Mary Doak
Orlando Espin
Jane Friedman
Russell Fuller
John Halaka
Jerome Hall
Lawrence Gardepie
Michael Gonzalez
Michelle Grier
Kenneth Keith
Evelyn Kirkley
Patricia Kowalski
Eugene Labovitz
Gertrud Jaron Lewis
Luby Liao
Judith Liu
Sue Lowery
Gary Macy
Mitch Malachowski
Dan Moriarty
Noelle Norton
Rodney Peffer
Gail Perez
Linda Peterson
Ann Pirruccello
Patricia A. Plovanich
Jack W. Pope
Fred Miller Robinson
Daniel P. Sheehan
Lynne Small
Abraham Stoll
Karen Teel
Barton Thurber
Patricia S. Traylor
John Valois
Betsy Winters
Michele Magnin
James Weyant
Larry A. Williamson
Donald B. Peterson
Catholic Organizational Signers:
8th Day Center for Justice Women in Church and Society Committee – USA
A Critical Mass: Women Celebrating Eucharist – USA
Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church – USA
Boulder Women Eucharist – USA
Call to Action – USA
Catholic Diocese of One Spirit – USA
Catholics for a Changing Church – USA
Catholics for Choice – Canada
Catholics for Choice – USA
Catholic Women’s Ordination – United Kingdom
Católicas pelo Direito de Decidir – Brasil
Chicago Women-Church – USA
Coordinadora Nacional de Documentación y Publicaciones Red Universitaria Venezolana de Estudios de las Mujeres – Venezuela
CORPUS, National Association for an Inclusive Ministry – USA
Dignity USA
Droits et Libertés dans les Eglises/Femmes et Hommes en Eglise – France
Federation of Christian Ministries/Roman Catholic Faith Community Council – USA
Greater Cincinnati Women-Church – USA
Housetop/womenpriests.org – International
Kerk Hardop – Netherlands
Le Réseau Culture et foi, Québec – Canada
Miriam’s Circle – South Africa
National Coalition of American Nuns – USA
New Ways Ministry – USA
New Wine – United Kingdom
Noi Siamo Chiesa – Italy
Pax Christi Maine – USA
Roman Catholic Womenpriests – Canada
Roman Catholic Womenpriests – EuropeWest
Roman Catholic Womenpriests – USA
San Francisco Bay Area Women-Church – USA
Sisters Against Sexism Women-Church Community – USA
Sisters of Providence Congregation for Peace with Justice – USA
Southeastern Pennsylvania Women’s Ordination Conference – USA
Voice of the Faithful/New Jersey – USA
We Are Church – Austria
We Are Church – Denmark
We Are Church – Spain
We Are Church – United Kingdom
Women Word Spirit – The Voice of Catholic Women’s Network – USA
Women-Church Baltimore – USA
Prominent Scholars, Activists and USD Alumni:
Katie G. Cannon
Shannon Clarkson
Edwina Gateley
Ivone Gebara
Dieter T. Hessel
Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz
Diann Neu
Anthony Padovano
Nancy Pineda-Madrid
Judith Plaskow
Jeanette Rodriguez
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza
Elsa Tamez
Emilie M. Townes
Traci C. West
Barbara Blain
Ruth McDonough Fitzpatrick
Rev. Dr. Marie M. Fortune
Jeannine Gramick, SL
Frances Kissling
Donna Quinn, OP
Rev. Mary Ramerman
Beth Rindler, SFP
Sr. Christine Schenk, CSJ
Beverly O’Connor Bennett
Joanne Bray, WOC Board of Directors
Rachel Bundang
Barbra Calantas
Michael Sepidoza Campos
Cyra Akila Choudhury
Elizabeth J. Clarke
Dr. Mary Condren Th.D
Carol Coston, OP
Jane Dempsey Douglass
Sandra Duarte de Souza
Virginia Fabella, MM
Rev. Dr. Della Fahenstock
Marcia Falk
Mary McClintock Fulkerson
Mary Grey
Christine E. Gudorf
David Hay
Margaret Hebblethwaite
Rev. Dr. José R. Irizarry
Matthew Juelsgaard
Catherine Keller
Christine Ledesma
Sr. Mary John Mananzan, OSB
Joanna Manning
Margaret R. Miles
Alexina Murphy
Marysa Navarro, PhD
Maria José Fontelas Rosado Nunes
Dr. Kathryn Ott
Bertha Popeney
Rev. Jeanne Audrey Powers
Dr. Marjorie Procter-Smith
Judy Rauner
Jane Carol Redmont
Mayra Rivera
Victoria Rue, Ph.D., WOC Board of Directors
Dr. Jennifer Rycenga
Barbara A. Peddie, PhD
Amanda Quantz
Amy Scanlon, WOC Board of Directors
Laura Singer, President of WOC Board of Directors
The Rev. Jeanette Stokes
David Sullivan
Dr. Margarita Suarez
Margaret Susan Thompson
Barbara B. Troxell
Lois Uttley
Dr. Jane Via
Dr. Val Webb
Theresa Yugar, WOC Board of Directors
More than 1800 individual signers
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