University of Virginia Library

Resignations Pressured

England Charges Unfair Treatment

By Fred Heblich
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

"If my case becomes a trend, it
will destroy the University," said
James England of the Department
of Mathematics, referring to his
resignation from the faculty.

An article in yesterday's Cavalier
Daily charged that Mr. England and
Kenneth Ross were pressured to
resign from the University because
of their views concerning student
and faculty roles in the Administration.
Mr. England stated that
"every bit of the article was true."
Mr. Ross said "I am in general
agreement with what the article
said.

Mr. England is an active supporter
of the Coalition and has
introduced proposals before the
Faculty Committee which were
designed to bring students into
closer involvement with the faculty
and Administration. He resigned his
position when he was denied
promotion by the Faculty Committee
on Promotions.

War Critic

Mr. Ross has spoken out against
the war in Vietnam and is presently
a director of an organization which
opposes the ABM. He also advocates
a larger student voice in
faculty and administrative affairs,
Mr. Ross has not been promoted
from Instructor or given a pay raise,
reportedly because he does not
have a Ph.D. He is currently
working on his dissertation which
he expects to finish next year.
When notified that he would be
expected to teach a 12 hour course
load next year, he resigned, saying
that under this condition he would
not be able to finish his dissertation.

Pressured To Resign

Mr. England said that he was
"pressured to resign because of
deviating from the norms that the
Administration sets for faculty
members." When asked if the
Administration had spoken to him
about his activities, he said, "That's
just it. They don't say anything.
Instead they make it so unattractive
here for you that you're forced to
leave. People who question the
Administration don't expect to get
treated nicely, but they should
treat you fairly. I wasn't treated
fairly."

Mr. Ross said that when he was
informed that he would have to
teach four courses next year, "it
was implied that all Instructors
would have to do the same. I
thought it was a new rule." Fredson
Bowers, the Dean of the Faculty
was not available for comment.

Mr. Ross also said, "I never felt
any pressure about what I was
doing. I was not informed that
what I was doing was meeting with
disfavor from the Administration."

Asked if their resignations will
have any affect on the rest of the
faculty, Mr. England said, "I don't
really know, but I think it will
make faculty members think twice
before questioning the
Administration."

Mr. Ross said, "People who
really feel a commitment will still
speak out, but it will inhibit some
of the moderates."