KIRTLAND, OH Lakeland Community College near Cleveland, Ohio, has removed a professor of moral philosophy from his classes as punishment for refusing to hide his religious identity from students. The college threatened Dr. James Tuttle, who espouses traditional Catholic beliefs, with dismissal because he made statements on his syllabi and in class that disclosed his religious faith and how that shaped his personal philosophy.
Dr. Tuttle's problems began in March 2003 when he received a copy of a student complaint forwarded to him by Dean James L. Brown of the Arts and Humanities Division at Lakeland. The student complained that Dr. Tuttle mentioned his Catholic beliefs too often for the student's taste and suggested that he be given “counseling for tolerance.”
In an effort to address this issue, Dr. Tuttle decided to add “disclaimers” to the syllabi of two of his classes informing students that the professor was “a committed Catholic Christian philosopher and theologian,” so that students would know in advance about his perspective. The statement also encouraged any students who felt uncomfortable with Dr. Tuttle's views or methods to feel free to talk to him outside of class.
On April 21, 2003, Dr. Tuttle received a letter from Dean Brown saying that he was “more bothered by [Tuttle's] disclaimer than by anything I read in [the student]'s complaint.” Dean Brown went on to suggest that Dr. Tuttle “would be happier in a sectarian classroom.” In punishing Dr. Tuttle for including the disclaimer, Dean Brown stated that he would reduce Dr. Tuttle's course load for the next semester to only one class (thereby reducing his pay) and would subject him to classroom monitoring by a fellow professor before reaching a final decision on whether to actually fire him.
Dr. Tuttle was informed in December that he was being given the last pick of classes with a selection of courses that administrators knew he did not wish to teach despite the fact that Lakeland's traditional seniority system should have given him preference over six other instructors. Dr. Tuttle refused to accept the loss of his seniority and declined to accept Lakeland's shameful offer.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), contacted the college in December in support of Dr. Tuttle. “Asking a philosophy professor to divorce his deepest philosophic views from his teaching is both outrageous and absurd,” said Greg Lukianoff, director of legal and public advocacy for FIRE. “To say that a philosophy professor cannot discuss religious ideas is to render him incapable of meaningful discussion of some of the greatest minds in the history of his field. Feminists are not forced to veil their feminism, and Catholic philosophers should be free to be Catholic philosophers.”
To express your views to the college contact:
Morris W. Beverage,
President, Lakeland Community College
440-525-7000
James L. Brown,
Dean, Arts and Sciences Division, Lakeland Community College
See FIRE's complete letter to the college
(This update courtesy of LifeSiteNews.com.)