2008 Woodie Awards
Ford grant raises questions
By: Michael Barnes
Issue date: 3/10/06 Section: News
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Macalester was selected in December as one of 27 colleges and universities to receive a $100,000 grant from the Ford Foundation as part of an initiative to promote tolerance and academic freedom on U.S. campuses.
When the contract for the grant money arrived in February, however, there was a clause that required Macalester to agree â?oenot to promote or engage in violence, terrorism, bigotry or the destruction of any state.â??
The anti-terrorism language, adopted by the Ford Foundation in Jan. 2004, and added as a stipulation to all grant contracts and solicitation letters, raised concerns at the time among university officials around the country that the new policy might inhibit academic freedom within institutions of higher education.
Helen Warren, the director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, the campus department that oversees the administration of all grants to the college, said Macalester never contested the change in grant language, and signed and returned the most recent grant contract on Feb. 15.
Warren discussed the anti-terrorism language with Dean of International Studies Ahmed Samatar, Classics Professor Andy Overman, and Provost Diane Michelfelder, who all agreed that the language posed no challenge for Macalester.
â?oeWe had a discussion about whether there was a problem in signing [the contract], so the issue was carefully considered,â?? Warren said. â?oeThe consensus was that we should move forward.â??
The grant money will support an ongoing archeological excavation in Omrit, Israel, led by Overman, and an on-campus conference on the Middle East, Warren said. The programs will be administered by Samatar and Overman.
â?oeI donâ?TMt feel in any way inhibited by this grant,â?? Overman said.
Overmanâ?TMs only concern is whether the Macalester community will be open and receptive to listening to the people who may come to campus for the conference.
â?oeThe biggest challenge is for us as a community to decide what voices we want to hear,â?? he said. â?oeIs our culture able to receive really diverse views?â?? The grant is part of the â?oeDifficult Dialoguesâ?? initiative the Ford Foundation launched in April 2005 to promote â?oecampus environments where sensitive subjects can be discussed in a spirit of open scholarly inquiryâ?¦with respect for different viewpoints,â?? according to a press release from the foundation.
When the contract for the grant money arrived in February, however, there was a clause that required Macalester to agree â?oenot to promote or engage in violence, terrorism, bigotry or the destruction of any state.â??
The anti-terrorism language, adopted by the Ford Foundation in Jan. 2004, and added as a stipulation to all grant contracts and solicitation letters, raised concerns at the time among university officials around the country that the new policy might inhibit academic freedom within institutions of higher education.
Helen Warren, the director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, the campus department that oversees the administration of all grants to the college, said Macalester never contested the change in grant language, and signed and returned the most recent grant contract on Feb. 15.
Warren discussed the anti-terrorism language with Dean of International Studies Ahmed Samatar, Classics Professor Andy Overman, and Provost Diane Michelfelder, who all agreed that the language posed no challenge for Macalester.
â?oeWe had a discussion about whether there was a problem in signing [the contract], so the issue was carefully considered,â?? Warren said. â?oeThe consensus was that we should move forward.â??
The grant money will support an ongoing archeological excavation in Omrit, Israel, led by Overman, and an on-campus conference on the Middle East, Warren said. The programs will be administered by Samatar and Overman.
â?oeI donâ?TMt feel in any way inhibited by this grant,â?? Overman said.
Overmanâ?TMs only concern is whether the Macalester community will be open and receptive to listening to the people who may come to campus for the conference.
â?oeThe biggest challenge is for us as a community to decide what voices we want to hear,â?? he said. â?oeIs our culture able to receive really diverse views?â?? The grant is part of the â?oeDifficult Dialoguesâ?? initiative the Ford Foundation launched in April 2005 to promote â?oecampus environments where sensitive subjects can be discussed in a spirit of open scholarly inquiryâ?¦with respect for different viewpoints,â?? according to a press release from the foundation.
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