On May 8, 2024, DePaul University terminated the contract of Anne d’Aquino, an adjunct professor in microbiology, after she gave an optional assignment that asked students to consider the biological and health impacts of Israeli military action in Gaza.
D’Aquino’s contract was terminated seven months after a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, during which over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed and more than 200 abducted, and the Israeli military’s subsequent bombardment of the Gaza Strip which, as of early June 2024, has reportedly killed more than 36,000 Palestinians.
The university hired d’Aquino to teach Health 194, Human Pathogens and Defense, during DePaul’s spring term, which runs from April 1 to June 15. The course explored the relevance of microbiology research to everyday life and current events. On May 6, d’Aquino emailed students giving them the option of completing their original assignment on the biological impact of the avian flu or an alternative assignment analyzing the biological and health impacts of Israeli military action on Gaza. D’Aquino explained the alternative assignment saying, “Today, Israel rejected a ceasefire deal and continues to bomb Rafah, where over 600,000 children are currently sheltering.. many view this as the last phase of the genocide/ethnic cleansing of indigenous Palestinian people… I encourage students to use scientific analysis and critical thinking to understand and communicate the impacts of genocide on human biology, and the creation of a decolonized future that promotes liberation and resists systemic oppression.” She also provided students with several resources “on decolonizing science, and the intersections of biological sciences, health and history in Palestine.” At the end of the email she included a watermelon emoji– a symbol of Palestinian solidarity often used as a stand-in for the Palestinian flag.
The following day, the chair of the Health and Science department, Sarah Connolly reached out to d’Aquino to let her know that students had reported feeling unsafe in the class. Connolly also informed d’Aquino that the analysis of Israeli military action was not relevant to the field of microbiology, and expressed concern with d’Aquino’s references to “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” in the assignment’s prompt.
On May 8, Connolly followed up by sending d’Aquino a termination letter. In the letter, Connolly cited a clause in the faculty handbook that states, “faculty are obligated to avoid significant intrusion of material unrelated to the course,” and that “[the] added an assignment … was unrelated to the course objectives and microbiology,” Connolly stated that she had consulted with DePaul’s dean’s office and had decided to terminate d’Aquino’s appointment, effective immediately. According to DePaul’s Information Sheet for Adjunct Faculty, the university has the sole discretion to terminate the contract of adjunct faculty “without notice, penalty, or further obligation,” if there is cause for such action. The university assigned a new instructor to finish the term.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about the termination of a professor in retaliation for exercising the right to academic freedom and free expression on matters within her area of professional expertise. University authorities have an obligation to refrain from retaliatory actions intended to punish, restrict, or chill the exercise of academic freedom.In addition to the harm to the immediate victim, suspensions stemming from such activity undermines academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and democratic society generally.
Sources:
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/academic-freedom/2024/06/03/depaul-adjunct-ousted-optional-gaza-assignment
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/adjunct-professor-fired-depaul-assignment-war-in-gaza-public-health/
https://www.universityherald.com/articles/78972/20240604/depaul-university-adjunct-fired-optional-assignment-palestine-health.htm
https://offices.depaul.edu/academic-affairs/leadership-resources/hiring-managing/Documents/AdjunctFacultyInformationSheetAY2223.pdf