What I didn’t do on summer vacation…

Here are some posts that I missed this summer.

From The Chronicle of Higher Education [subscription may be required]:

• Judge upholds dismissal of counseling student at Eastern Michigan University who refused to treat gay clients, ruling that the dismissal was based on her actions, not her religious beliefs. (July 27, 2010)
• The University of Illinois retains adjunct professor of Roman Catholicism but ends the church’s role in hiring. The professor’s long-term status depends on the outcome of an investigation into whether his academic freedom was violated when he faced dismissal over comments he made about homosexuality. (July 29, 2010)
• North Carolina State Court of Appeals rules that giving Davidson College’s police officers arresting power creates government entanglement with religion and violates the First Amendment. (August 17, 2010)

From Inside Higher Ed:

• Students at Calcutta campus of Aliah University, a Muslim institution, have barred a female instruct from teaching without wearing a full burqa.
• Sweden may let universities ban burqas.
• Adjunct at Oklahoma City Community College has decided no longer to teach there after being accused of teaching creationism alongside evolution in a biology course. (August 9, 2010)
• University of North Carolina students now may opt out of abortion coverage in their health insurance plan. (August 13, 2010)
• A course on gay marriage is scheduled to be taught at Seton Hall University, despite the opposition of the archbishop of Newark. (August 26, 2010)

From the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life:

• Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California, opens its doors to 15 students and aims to grow to 2000 students and become America’s first Muslim four-year, liberal-arts college. (August 23, 2010)

With the fall semester about to get underway, I expect postings to pick up.

College modifies policy banning facial veil, now allows veil for religious reasons

Inside Higher Ed does a fine job (here, here, and here) tracing the controversy surrounding a ban on “any head covering that obscures a student’s face…either on campus or at clinical sites” introduced in December by the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. The security policy initially had an exemption only for “medical reasons.” After a federal civil liberties complaint and extensively publicity, the College added a religious exemption.

The second and third posts offer sufficient background and detail to undergird a useful campus conversation. Recommended reading.

“Arab Feminisms” discussed at conference at the American University of Beirut

BEIRUT: Academics, activists and researchers gathered at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Wednesday for the third and last day of a major conference to discuss Arab feminisms. The conference, “Arab Feminisms: A Critical Perspective,” was organized by the Lebanese Association of Women Researchers (also known as Bahithat) in collaboration with AUB’s Anis Makdisi Program in Literature and several other universities. It brought together some 46 individuals from across the world for discussions on the state, challenges, and future of contemporary Arab feminisms.

The conference was the first major event of its kind in Lebanon to address present-day feminist thought in the Arab region, and showcased numerous emerging and often conflicting schools of thought in contemporary theory.

The news article gives an overview of the panels and highlights some of the discussion among participants.

[The Daily Star of Lebanon via The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life: Religion News]

Saudi Arabia inaugurates first coed university

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life flags an Associated Press report on the inauguration of the King Abdullah Science and Technology University (KAUST), the kingdom’s first coed university. King Abdullah on his hopes for the new foundation:

"Humanity has been the target of vicious attacks from extremists, who speak the language of hatred," King Abdullah said at the inauguration. "Undoubtedly, scientific centers that embrace all peoples are the first line of defense against extremists. And today this university will become a house of wisdom … a beacon of tolerance."

I wonder whether the KAUST’s focus on science and technology (as opposed, say, to humanities or social sciences) makes the step to coeducation easier and the hopes for tolerance more readily achievable.