Last class of Ignacio Chapela at UC Berlekey

Come to Ignacio's Last Class at UC Berkeley
Ignacio Chapela's last class at UC Berkeley is this Thursday, Dec. 9th from 8:00 - 9:30 AM. in 141 McCone Hall


Show Solidarity with Professor Ignacio Chapela

An outspoken critic of the university's ties to the biotechnology industry, Dr. Chapela had his tenure denied after he published an article demonstrating that native corn in Mexico had been contaminated by genetically engineered corn. His tenure denial came in the face of overwhelming support by his peers at UC and around the world.

Please Join us for Ignacio's last class and stand behind Academic Freedom

We hope to encourage as many people to come to this last class before Ignacio loses his job, which will be an open-mic session. We must fill the class and overflow to the outside. At the end of the class, we will then march to California Hall to demand from the Chancellor a full investigation of Ignacio's tenure case and to extend Ignacio's job while the investigation occurs. Wear a ribbon around your arm to show solidarity.


Thursday, Dec. 9th 8am-9:30am in 141 McCone Hall, UC Berkeley
If need be, will move the class outside - to the open area just West of McCone Hall
9:30 - 10:00 am March to California Hall. Hand Chancellor Demands
10:00 am - Speakers and much more in front of California Hall
Dear Friends and Supporters of Ignacio Chapela,

The time has come to act. Professor Ignacio Chapela's contract is ending and his last class at UC Berkeley is taking place this Thursday, Dec. 9 from 8:00 - 9:30 AM. The University has been completely unresponsive up to this point. If you have not had the chance to show your solidarity with Ignacio and the issues that he stands for, now is your chance.

As many of you know Dr. Chapela was denied tenure in an extremely biased review process - that had more to do with his critical stance on biotechnology and the corporate presence in academia, than his important work or creative/intellectual capacity. We are planning to rally as many people as possible to Ignacio's last class to show solidarity and to stand up for academic freedom, tenure justice, and the ability to conduct our own research without catering to the biotechnology industry or any other corporate presence on campus. After the class, we plan to march to the Chancellor’s office to deliver a letter with our demands in support of Ignacio’s case.

For this action to be persuasive and to demonstrate the deep respect, support, and admiration that we have for Dr. Chapela, we need your presence. Please join us for Ignacio's last (hopefully not) class and the subsequent march to California Hall.

Media is welcome to attend all these events. We are planning to wear ribbons as a symbol of our support. Ribbons will be available at class Thursday morning and at various spots around campus.

If you are unable to join us, you can still make an impact:
1. Call, fax, or email the chancellor’s office. A sample letter/talking points, along with contact information, can be found at the end of this email. If enough people contact the chancellor’s office, preferably Thursday morning or afternoon, we will make a huge statement that they will not be able to ignore. If you can’t do it on Thursday, please contact their office whenever you can.
2. Forward this email to as many list-serves, groups, and people you know.
3. Print out the attached flyer and post it around your schools, workplaces, and communities.
4. Write and Op-Ed to a local newspaper or to the California Monthly (Berkeley’s Alumni Magazine).
5. Wear a ribbon around your arm as a symbol of support. This is an ongoing symbol that we will be wearing through Thursday and beyond. We are going to be using red and green ribbons intertwined and tied around the arm. Though, any ribbon will do. See http://www.tenurejustice.org for more information.
6. Join the Tenure Justice Campaign list-serve for future actions at http://www.tenurejustice.org
7. Make a donation to the Pulse of Science Fund. Email tenurejustice [at] riseup.net with “donation” in the subject line for more information.

Brief Background on Dr. Chapela’s Case:
Dr. Chapela had his tenure denied after he spoke out against the 5 year, $25 million contract between Novartis Corporation (one of the world's largest biotechnology companies) and the College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley, and after he published an article in Nature in November 2001 that demonstrated the presence of engineered genes in native corn in Mexico (A 1998 law had made it illegal to plant transgenic corn in Mexico.) Although he had overwhelming support from his peers reviewing his case (59 supported tenure, while only 3 recommended against tenure) the budget committee (which included one professor with financial ties to the biotechnology industry and academic ties to Novartis) voted against tenure, and the chancellor upheld their vote.
Fore more information or to subscribe to our list: http://www.tenurejustice.org

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Sample Letter/Talking Points to be used when you call, email, or fax the Chancellor. Also, please CC the Regents: regentsoffice [at] ucop.edu
If you wish to fax or call the Regents go to http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/contact.html
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Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau
Office of the Chancellor
200 California Hall #1500
Berkeley, CA 94720-1500
(510) 642-7464 Fax: 510-643-5499
chancellor [at] berkeley.edu

Dear Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau,

The tenure process for Professor Ignacio Chapela of the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (ESPM) has been extraordinary. After three years and much international attention, Chancellor Berdahl denied tenure despite the near-unanimous support from the reviewers from within and beyond ESPM. Additionally there was an obvious conflict of interest with one of the faculty members on the budget committee reviewing Ignacio Chapela’s case. We are concerned that this appears to be not only a failure of the review process, but also that it may represent the stifling of academic freedom and an assault on the credibility of the University of California.

We Demand:

1. A clear and simple statement from yourself, the new chancellor, regarding your position and plan of action with respect to this case
2. That an impartial body (preferably from outside the UC system) examine

· What conflicts of interest were present in the tenure review process
· How those conflicts of interest shaped the outcome
· The reasons why the budget committee contradicted its own ad hoc committee of experts
· The reasons why the chancellor recommended against tenure despite overwhelming support from Ignacio's department, anonymous external reviewers, and the greater academic community

and
3. To extend Professor Chapela's term of employment while an investigation is underway.

Sincerely,

(Your Name)