Yes, it’s true. After posting that my university had sent me a letter by courier telling me to take the name of my university off of my blog, there was mounting publicity about the situation, including stories by BNET Pharma, Schwitzer Health News, and Inside Higher Education, followed by other posts including a story last week in the Academic Exchange and this post on the Carlat Psychiatry Blog. The obvious question was why the ban was applied to me and not other faculty from the same institution. In the face of growing media attention I got a sudden letter chalking it up to a misunderstanding, basically, and yes I can identify myself as university faculty. I thought the first letter was pretty clear not to use the university name in any way, but, whatever.
I think this question has important implications for academic freedom because if I can’t say that I am a professor of psychiatry and radiology then people don’t have any basis for evaluating my opinions. If I am reading a blog about legal issues I want to know if that person was trained as a lawyer. My work in the area of medication safety started with the issue of the acne drug Accutane causing depression (taken off the market last week thanks in part to my efforts btw) and continued with a book analyzing prescription medication which they declined to publicize.
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) both took an interest in the case. After an initial good first step in saying that it was a violation of my academic freedom for the university to block me from identifying myself as a member of their faculty, I think the response of the AAUP was fairly weak, saying that since I didn’t file a grievance that they assumed I felt the issue was resolved. My complaint was about their ban on me identifying myself as a faculty member, especially when it was so arbitrary and unilateral, in what basically amounts to an effort at censorship.
If this isn’t the kind of issue that the AAUP is interested in, then what is?
Emory University’s slogan: “Where courageous inquiry leads”. They just took a tiny step in the appropriate direction.
Congratuations!
Emory University’s slogan: “Where courageous inquiry leads”. They just took a tiny step in the appropriate direction.
Congratulations!
Congratulations ! I have always enjoyed our stress work !
Thanks for clearing up matters. I was wondering why country music television personality Ralph Emery did not want to be associated with you.
It seems I was not the only one who misunderstood something. It appears that the university misunderstood its role and raison d’etre.
Did the Emory Board make the decision? Oh, wait, that’s Emery, isn’t it.
Congratulations, Dr. B.
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Very good job in your tactical strategy, Doug.
Emory is such a mess right now. Major fail
Great news, I hope you don’t put the name back here! It would be a great headline that says, “Integrity and ethics return to Emory, Nemeroff pays all non-reported pharma money to homeless shelters” or something like that.
Or, it would be great if they actually published the book release and gave the book a proper announcement.
Great victory for you though!
You wrote, “I got a sudden letter chalking it up to a misunderstanding…”
Yes, indeed. The misunderstanding being the University didn’t think they’d catch any flak over the matter. Good on ya’, mate!
Fishtrap sized kahoonies! Congrats!
[...] FIRE and bloggers, Emory University remembers that Doug Bremner works there, and that he’s perfectly within his rights to say so on his blog. “Amid all the campus ephemery We seem to have misplaced our memory. [...]
[...] FIRE and bloggers, Emory University remembers that Doug Bremner works there, and that he’s perfectly within his rights to say so on his blog. “Amid all the campus ephemery We seem to have misplaced our memory. [...]
[...] last month I was told to remove the name of my university from this blog and then a few days ago my university backtracked and said I could use the name (not the letterhead, which I never disputed). The incident attracted [...]
“I got a sudden letter chalking it up to a misunderstanding”
I think Emery’s zoology department need to check the locks on their cages. A bunch of weasles must have escaped into the boardroom. Weasles without the balls to admit they were wrong – clearly those zoologists must neutered them…
So, did you know that my husband got fired from his job over speaking out on the Amanda Knox case? At first they were all over it telling him how they admired it, etc. Then as soon as he went on National Television they told them to stop. Their only previous request was that he didn’t mention Pepperdine, which he never did. I think I like YOUR University better. We have a huge lawsuit, unfortunately. They were afraid of backsplash and it would have ended up being a feather in their hat. They have a program in Florence, the town that convicted Mignini to 16 months for abuse of power. I will definitely not allow my kids to study abroad in Italy now, which is unfortunate. I would love to talk to you about this sometime if you wouldn’t mind. Thanks.
@Michelle I have tenure which helped me in my situation, it also helps to get everything out in the open. Truth is the best disinfectant. Pepperdine has more to worry about with the students running into la polizia than they do with any fake worries about stirring up anti-Americanism. At this point they have to worry about how they have flushed their own reputation down the toilet, but it is probably too late for them on that count.