Proposal rejected by Academic Council

In a move yesterday that surprised few and drew support from many, the Academic Council overwhelmingly rejected a proposal by psychology professor John Staddon to end all preferential hiring initiatives "as soon as practicable."

After more than an hour of discussion by faculty members from several schools of the University, the council voted 33 to 10 against Staddon's proposal. Although it mentioned ending all forms of preferential hiring, the document had as its main focus the black faculty initiative.

The initiative, which was passed by the council in 1988 after a tie-breaking vote by the chair and then later reaffirmed in an altered form in 1994, calls on all University department to increase their efforts to recruit and retain black faculty.

To begin the discussion, Staddon, James B. Duke professor of experimental psychology, explained to the council the reasoning behind his position. "The black faculty initiativeÉ puts off the day when race will cease to matter at Duke University," he said.

After questioning whether the initiative would stand up to the recently established Supreme Court standard of being "narrowly tailored" to meet a "compelling governmental interest," Staddon posed the same question he asked at the May council meeting: "Why, in short, are we funding racial discrimination?"

The principal aim of the University is "to do our job of research and teaching as well as we can," Staddon said, and added that diversity plays no inherent role in this mission. Admitting that the University does have a history of racial discrimination, Staddon put a unique twist on his statement by saying that in his 28 years at the University, he has seen such discrimination take place in favor of, not against, minorities.

Continuing, Staddon said that preferential recruitments based on race, gender and the like are of a different nature than those based on athletic ability, for example.

Offering preferential treatment to people based on athletic ability does not interfere with the basic mission of the University in the way that racial and other such preferences do, he said. This statement also evoked spontaneous reactions from the audience, even moving newly appointed Vice President for Institutional Equity Myrna Adams to laugh out loud.

"Do not fall into the trap of imagining that the issue before us is whether to proceed with a political goal, or to return to an apolitical ideal," he said. "The motion to end our current policy is just as political as the motion that put it in place."

Speaking next and in favor of Staddon's proposal, Larry Evans, chair of the physics department, said that the Academic Council should not involve itself in preferential hiring issues, but rather, that hiring decisions should be left up to the individual departments and the dean of the faculty. Evans concluded by saying that the black faculty initiative actually has done more harm than good to faculty relations by creating tension among faculty members, both minority and otherwise.

Brenda Armstrong, associate professor of pediatric cardiology, vehemently rejected the assertion that minorities have received preferential treatment at the University. "The idea that this particular initiative actually brings into question the `standards' with which we would go after faculty who are African Americans is repulsive to me," she said.

"Those of us who have been brought here were brought here on the same standards as our majority counterparts, have been held at a much higher level of productivity and performance to progress through the ranks, and we basically have written this strategic plan with the retention of excellence in mind," Armstrong said.

She also responded to the popular assertion, put forth by Staddon, that preferential hiring programs are based on a sense of "group guilt" by whites and are an attempt to make up for past discrimination.

"To talk about affirmative action always brings up this issue of reparations--that we should somehow be making reparations for past injustices. There are not enough lifetimes to do that," Armstrong said. "We need to move ahead--the institution needs to move ahead--there are much more pressing issues to the University, and I suggest thatÉ we proceed with the business of a University."

After the council voted, Vice President Adams, who did not speak during the discussion, said in an interview that she was pleased with the manner in which the discussion took place.

"I think the debate proceeded with little rancor and serious intent to fully examine a complex issue," she said. "And I welcome that kind of debate, because there is no way that I can do what I have been asked to do here without serious commitment on the part of those who want to remedy historic and present discrimination."

Addressing Staddon's statement that "ideas have no color," Adams said, "It would seem to suggest that the presentation of ideas is not influenced by who we are, what our experiences have been, what our values are, and that they come from a machine and not a human beingÉ which I find absurd."

As of May, a total of 41 black faculty were employed on a tenured or tenure-track level, representing 2.5 percent of the University's 1,661 faculty on those levels.

IN OTHER BUSINESS: The council voted unanimously to rename the Department of Electrical Engineering, per the department's request. The department will now be known as the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

The council also heard a presentation from Dick Siemer, chief of staff of administrative services, on the increases in the prices of parking permits that were announced during the summer. The 30 percent increase in parking fees was later reduced by 50 percent when many faculty objected to not being told about the price hike.

In another unanimous vote, the council approved the new members of the Faculty Hearing Committee, which is responsible for hearing appeals in tenure cases. Law professor Thomas Rowe will chair the committee.