Tenured professor dismissed last week
Administrators decline to comment; Wicken refutes rumors
b Mark Owens
The Collegian
Dr. Jeffrey Wicken, a
professor of biochemistry at
Behrend for the past seventeen
years, was releaved of his duties
on Friday and asked to leave
campus.
Administrators declined to
comment on the reason Wicken
was dismissed, but Wicken said it
was because he had "irked" the
administration.
"I've been here for 17 years at
a tenured position, and basically
managed to get on the nerves of
the administration," said Wicken.
"It wasn't anything gracious like
'being ;let go' -- I was
Jeffrey Wicken
villainously fired."
Wicken said he has been
suffering from a viral infection,
"or more specifically fatigue
syndrom, which makes me very
tired. I've missed classes and
office hours because I've been
"I was villainously fired."
- Dr. Jeffrey Wicken
working on something else and
become so exhausted I just have
to sleep."
He also refuted rumors that
his dismissal was due to drug or
alcohol-related problems.
"I've never had a drug
problem. That's absolutely false."
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Meanwhile, other professors
arc taking ovcr Wicken's former
classes for the rest of the
semester.
According to Allen Pulsifer,
division head of science,
engineering and technology,
Mary Chisholm, assistant
professor of chemistry, and
Barbara luchno-Herman,
chemistry lecturer, will take over
Wicken's chemistry, organic
chemistry and chemistry lab
courses for the rest of the
semester.
Debate
tonight:
To be or
not to be
PC?
Fish,
D'Souza
discuss pros
and cons of
heated issue
Loretta Russ
The Collegian
Across the country college
campuses are experiencing an
ongoing controversy concerning
political correctness. The issue
causes bitter confrontations over
questions about the politics of
race and sex.
This issue will be debated
tonight at 8 p.m. in Erie Hall by
Dincsh D'Souza and Dr. Stanley
Fish. The debate, titled "Is it
Correct to be Politically
Correct? " will address the
controversial issues of Political
Correctness.
Dinesh D'Souza is perhaps
the most outspoken opponent of
the PC movement on college
campuses today. He is the author
of the controversial bestseller,
Illiberal Education: The
Politics of Race and Sex on
Campus.
D'Souza graduated from
Dartmouth College in 1983. His
articles on culture and politics
have appeared in The Atlantic.
Forbes Magazine, The Wall
Street Journal, The New York
limes, as well as many others.
D'Souza feels that the
conflicts of Political Correctness
are the fruit of an ideology that
seeks to push the university into
social reform and to establish a
model "multicultural
community". He concludes that
the concepts of Political
Correctness have produced
balkanized, race-conscious groups
lacking a shared commitment to
the goals of liberal learning.
Dr. Stanley Fish is a professor
of English and of law at Duke
(continued on page 3)