The American Anthropological Association has weighed in to support the Miami faculty at risk of unfair termination and the staff member who unwillingly resigned under duress. The Association joins over 2000 signers of our petition demanding the reversal of the administration’s decision. Much gratitude for the support!
Dr. Gregory Crawford, President
Office of the President
213 A Roudebush Hall
Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056
SUBJECT: John Cinnamon, Daniel Gladish, and Brian Grubb, Miami University faculty
Dear President Crawford,
On behalf of the American Anthropological Association and its nearly 10,000 members, we are writing to request that you intervene to make sure that a just, fair, and proportionate process is followed in considering the potential termination of tenured faculty members John Cinnamon and Daniel Gladish, and in reconsidering the employment status of Conservatory manager Brian Grubb, who was forced out under duress. Based on our understanding of the circumstances surrounding the cultivation and curation of the iboga plant in the university’s Conservatory, we feel the administration’s decision to terminate these tenured faculty members’ employment is a serious overreaction.
We are not qualified to address what appear to be complicated legal questions, but what is clear to anyone is that the administration has overreacted. Either no discipline, a reprimand, or training to prevent the problem from recurring is fair; termination is not. The cultivation and curation of the iboga plant imported from Gabon was clearly in the spirit of advancing ethnobotanical knowledge. Our Association is committed to basic principles of academic freedom, including the fundamental right of teachers and students to be free to pursue advances in knowledge based on systematic observation, interpretation, critique, publication, and commentary.
The decision to terminate Cinnamon, Gladish, and Grubb would be in direct contradiction to these principles, and to us, termination of employment under these circumstances seems overly harsh. We respectfully request that you do what is within your power to ensure that the University reconsiders the most appropriate response to these circumstances.
Yours sincerely,
AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
Alex W. Barker, President
Edward B. Liebow, Executive Director
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