Shoemaker, Alvin V.

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University of Rhode IslandDigitalCommons@URIHackney, Sheldon: Humanities ChairmanNomination Hearing (1993)Education: National Endowment for the Arts andHumanities, Subject Files I (1973-1996)1993Hackney, Sheldon: Humanities ChairmanNomination Hearing (1993): Letter to the Editor01Alvin V. ShoemakerFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/pell_neh_I_29This Letter to the Editor is brought to you for free and open access by the Education: National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, Subject Files I(1973-1996) at DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Hackney, Sheldon: Humanities Chairman Nomination Hearing (1993)by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@etal.uri.edu.Recommended CitationShoemaker, Alvin V., "Hackney, Sheldon: Humanities Chairman Nomination Hearing (1993): Letter to the Editor 01" (1993).Hackney, Sheldon: Humanities Chairman Nomination Hearing (1993). Paper 16.http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/pell_neh_I_29/16http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/pell_neh_I_29/16.. ,, i • ... "'"'" 'J .,.. uw ....... " ... - ... ---·-· ... -·· • --· . UNIVERSITY of PENNSYLVANIA. flf:_H ------Philadelphia, PA 19104 ...... -- June 11, 1993 Tl\e ~1tor ~he Wall St~aet Journal . To the Edi tC1J.": Your out~a9eous editori~l page oampaiqn to caricature Sheldon Hackney, Pres1dent Clinton's nominaa ta head the National Endowment for t.he Hum~n1ties, aa a left-wing ideologue, distorts tha tacts and his qualitications. Thera are 1'\any inaccurate factual o1aims about Sheldon Haclmey in your edi~o~1al of June 9. Among them are the follcwinq: 1) Allegation: Sheldon Hackney ia a lon9•standinq representa~ tive of academic 'political oo~~ectness.' Facti Sheldon Hackne.y' s a~tire career has ·been devoted to protecting open. ex~reasion on campus for all points of view. All ha wrote· in the Philadelphia Inauire&", oeto~er 3, 1991, "It is absolutely clear that the classroom must hot be a place tor indoctrination .. " • 2) Allega~ion1 Sheldon Hackney "tried to prosecute a freshman for sboutinq 'w•ter ))uffalo' at some raucous black wo~en •••• Only after near-univexsal uproar and ridicule in the press ••• did Mr.. Hackney drop the prosecution. " Pact: Ona can d~ete whethe~ Penn's student iudicial proce-dures. a~e effective or appropriate, but having esta~lished such a prooeaa, the Un1vers1ty'e president could not· int&rvene in the ~iddle of it. This case was ended when the complain-ants withdrew their charges. 3) All.ec;ration: Sheldon Hackney "epoke out in favor of kickin9 RO'l'C from·Penn." Fact: Sheldon ~ac~ney, a tor~er Naval office~ and product of 1:ha NROTC progr•a, has spent the past three years resisting demands by many Penn students and faculty that he remove }\OTC f~cnn the oampus, baoauae he believes that ROTc's presence on Americ~~a ~'~puses serVas important national pu~poses. l • . .,,-.,..,, . ., 4) Allegation: Sheldon Hackney ·••saw only 'conflict.' between 'diversity and open expression"' when P.enn students confiscat-ed copies of the student newspaper. F&cti Sheldon H~ckney said th~t diversity and open exp~ession "seem'' to be in contl:Lot, but that 11tberB oan be no com~romiem 1:esf1.rdinq 'tbe Fires 1'meMuot riqht of an independent publica• tion to express what.aver \riGW8 it chooses," ancl he reaffirmed his axiatin~ ban on such oonttsoat!ons. 5) Allegation: 11 A Penn lecturer, MuJ:"ray Dolfll\a.n ••• was forced [by Sheldon Hackney, ·you wronqly imply] to apologi~e and undergo a 'sensitivity and racial awareness' session. 11 Fae~: The faculty of Mr. Polfman's own sehool (the Wharton School) and department found his humiliation of black stuaents in his clase unacceptable and the aotions aqainst him by the Dean of the Wharton School wholly justified. 6) Allegation: "Mr. !\ackney's doul>le standard su9gests a man Who'd dispense federal arts J'l\Oney according to a sintilar bias.•• · Fact i The National Endowment for tha Humanities do~s not dispense federal ~ money, and Sheldon Hackney has made ciea~ that freedom of expression tor all views takes preee¥ dence over other ilnportant values when they co~e into con-flict. · · __ .... .. 7) Allegation: ''The Haeknef 1\0min~tion is a tribute to personal ti.ea" with ~e Clintons. Facts Sheldon Hackney's distinguished ca~eer as a historian, provost at Princeton Unive~sity,. president of Tulane Universi-ty, and president of Penn have qualified him many times over t.o lead the N.E.H. He is amonq the most senior anti ltost widely ~espected leaders in American hiqhe~ education. 'l'he fact that his wite (a distin;ui~hed advocate for the WAll-bein9 o.f children in her own right) happens ta serve on a baar<l vith Hillary Clinton is hardly relevant to.her husband's qualifications to serve his count~y. 8) ·Allegation:. "Hilla:ey Clinton ••• :r:eoently qave a fine speech at. Penn deploring pol!t.ical correctness." Fact: Hillary Clinton said virtually tbe same tbinq at Penn's commencement that you have been lambastinq Shel.don Hackney for sayinqt ''We niust always uphold the idea of our colleges as incubators of ideas and havens for free (lpeech and free thouqht •••• Where everf parson's humats dignit'Y'. is respected." 2 ••• .. JUl"'t J.;) • :J~ "'.:ll• .LU tt ""-... -• ....,._..,...,._ •• ,.. -•• • --· -------As· Chairman of Penn's Board of Trustees, I have worked with Sheldon Hac:kney for twelve years. He is a distinguished historian, a fair and judi_c,.ious person, and a widely x-aspected leadsr in American higher education. His distinguished record of achieve-ments and llloderate temperament will make hilft .a fine Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. ....• -.... Si~cer ly, ,. . f;l~;:H{.1~~­Al (/~ · .~t;({kf~ Chairman, Boar~ of Trustees of the University of ,ennsylvania 

Hackney, Sheldon: Humanities Chairman Nomination Hearing (1993): Letter to the Editor 01

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Hackney, Sheldon: Humanities Chairman Nomination Hearing (1993): Letter to the Editor 01

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