Controversial Barnard professor Nadia Abu El-Haj has received tenure.
El-Haj is the author of “Facts on the Ground,” a book that attacks the Israeli archaeological establishment for manipulating information used to legitimize Israel’s existence. Prominent archaeologists are divided on the book’s merits.
El-Haj’s tenure bid has been a divisive issue, with petitions both for and against her.
A statement from the college Friday confirmed earlier reports that El-Haj’s tenure had ben approved. The matter still must come before the boards of trustees of both Barnard and Columbia University, the college’s institutional parent, but Abu El-Haj is expected to attain the rank of associate professor, according to the college.
The statement said El-Haj had passed the college’s “rigorous” tenure process and expressed confidence in her ability to contribute to scholarship and learning at Barnard.
“Tenure, together with the norms of academic freedom that pertain to all faculty, gives scholars the liberty to advance ideas, regardless of their political impact, so that their work may be openly debated and play a critical role in shaping knowledge in the scholar’s academic field,” the statement said.
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