Unexpected Change At Leopold Center?
Something
rather disturbing crossed my e-mail inbox this morning. I don't
have a supporting link – but will try to provide one if the story hits
one of the local papers. (Take that as a disclaimer – if anyone has
supporting or refuting stories, I welcome your posts in the comments
section.)
Last
week, Fred Kirschenmann was given 48 hours to resign as director of the
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and to accept a position as
the “Distinguished Fellow” of the center.
A
new director was appointed before Dr. Kirschenmann was given notice.
Over the past five years, Dr. Kirschenmann has worked tirelessly and
with great dedication to the vision and work of the center. He has been
highly respected by the Center's staff.
The
reason for Fred Kirschenmann's removal from the directorship of the
Center seems clear. Fred Kirschenmann had not placated agribusiness.
They've been ferociously lobbying the dean's office for the past year
and a half to get him to stop his work on Ag in the Middle and other
projects that benefit farmers and the land.
If
you see fit to protest Fred Kirschenmann's removal as Director of the
Leopold Center for Sustainble Agriculture, you might make the following
points:
1) This is a violation of academic freedom;
2)
Fred Kirschenmann's tenure brought hope and opportunity for Iowa's
farmers. Removing him caves in to the old paradigm of factory farms and
environmental degradation.
3)
Agribusiness should not be allowed to dominate the agenda. Its
time to establish a public interest agenda that honors the original
mission of the center and mandate of Aldo Leopold's philosophy.
4)
The next dean of agriculture at Iowa State should have the guts to
stand up for a healthy economy for farmers and a healthy land for all
of Iowans. This is what Fred stood for.
Dr.
Kirschenmann has worked tirelessly and with great dedication to the
mission of the Center. He has not only brought hope and opportunity to
farmers in the Midwest, but his vision and skills have also reached
into all corners of the country where people who deeply love the land
and their communities have seen new ways forward that promise to
reverse the environmental degradation and economic decline that they
face today.
By
removing Dr. Kirschenmann from this position, Iowa State University is
allowing outside business interests to effectively control the agenda
of a prominent American university, thereby further eroding the once
unique independent status of academic institutions in American life. It
is particularly troubling that this should occur at a Center
established to honor the insights and teachings of Aldo Leopold.
Letters can be sent to:
Benjamin J. Allen
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
Iowa State University
Office of the Provost, 1550 Beardshear Hall,
Ames, Iowa 50011-2021
Phone 515-294-9591, provost@iastate.edu
Gregory L. Geoffroy
President, Iowa State University
1750 Beardshear Hall
Ames, Iowa 50011
(515) 294-2042
president@iastate.edu
For those interested, the offending “Agriculture of the Middle” program has it's own website:
It would
be grievously offensive to nearly everyone in the state of Iowa if Dr.
Kirschenmann was removed for researching and promoting economic models
that allow Iowa's family farms to stay solvent – isn't that one of the
supposed benefits of our land grant universities?
UPDATE: The Rural Populist blog has been collecting many aspects of this story. Of particular interest is this story from the Iowa State Daily:
Frederick
Kirschenmann, who has held the position since July 2000, was removed
from his position Tuesday concerning complaints from Iowa agriculture
groups accusing Kirschenmann of not communicating with them,
Wintersteen said.
“There was a significant number of folks who felt like they didn't have significant connection to the center,” she said.
Among
those who complained of Kirschenmann's performance are corn and soybean
producers who wanted more research on issues the center had
historically dealt with, such as water quality and conservation
research, Wintersteen said. She said although the center had
some projects in that area, “It was probably just not enough and also
there probably could have been more communication on those topics.”
These three paragraphs largely confirm the previous story, in particular the following two motivations:
1) The removal was politically motivated with pressure from outside groups.
2)
The pressure came from people who were bothered by the socio-economic
research being done by the Center – evidently the non-controversial
“soil and water conservation” research doesn't upset many apple carts.
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