UNH trustees refuse group's demands to review prof's teaching University of New Hampshire trustees defended professor William Woodward in response to a national organization's call for an intensive review of his teaching, including his controversial theory about the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
In a letter to the
American Council of Trustees and Alumni,* UNH Board of Trustees chairman Andy Lietz said a "careful review" of Woodward found his teaching consistent with accepted standards, "even though he has expressed some ideas that many find objectionable."
"The Board of Trustees has concluded that Professor Woodward exercises appropriate restraint and adheres to professional standards in the classroom," Lietz wrote council president Anne Neal in a letter dated Sept. 6.
The council implored UNH's trustees in its own letter on Sept. 1 to formally investigate Woodward, who has said he suspects the U.S. government orchestrated or knew in advance of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Woodward said he addresses the theory in one of his classes.
Continued... --------------------------------
*
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni was founded in 1995 by Lynne Cheney, the vice president's wife, and Sen. Joseph Lieberman. Its Website claims that it contributed $3.4 billion to colleges and universities last year, making it "the largest private source of support for higher education." Cheney is cited several times in the report, and is reportedly a close associate of its authors, Jerry Martin and Anne Neal.http://www.commondreams.org/views01/1213-05.htm