PROBLEMS PLAGUING AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP73-00475R000101100001-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 18, 2013
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: June 28, 1966
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT JUN 9 R
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/12/18: CIA-RDP73-00475R000101100001-4 _
I Problems Plaguing. American University of Eigiriit
STAT
By THOMAS F. BRADY
Special to The New Tort Time.
BEIRUT, Lebanon, June 27
?The American,University.,.of
BeiM7FortaTid degrees on 561
graiiiiatas today at the 97th
commencement exercises, which
marked beginning of celebration
of the university's centennial
1 Premier Abdullah Yafi of Leb-
'anon and six members of his
'Cabinet attended the exercises.
The university was established
.here in December, 1866, by
'American Presbyterian mission-
aries under the name Syrian
Protestant College. The name
!was changed to the American
University of Beirut In 1920.
1 The university, which opened
iwith 18 students, now has a
Istudent body of 2,433 men and
i714 women. They come from 53
;countries and represent 22 reit-
gions. However, most of the stu-
dents are Arabs.
: The centennial celebrations,
(which are scheduled to continue
through the year find this major
,outpost of new-world thought
'in the Mideast embattled from
without and within.
? Academic Freedom's Issue
t? Academic freedom, including
student freedom of expression,
,is the basic problem in the uni-
lversity's struggle to survive and
ito maintain its Western identity
in an Arab land.
Critics and antagonists of the
tuniversity include Arab Moslem
inationalists and Western lib-
erals, who find almost antithet-
ical fault with institution.
Arab nationalists accuse the
university of being the weapon
'of "American imperialism" and
'even a shelter for the Central
In tell i cc A gen cy. Recently
they ha-viMtrItTcused the uni-
versity of insulting Islam. The
cure advocated by these critics
is control by the Lebanese Go::
ernment of curriculum, teach-
ing and administration. ?
; The liberals, among them a.
sizable faculty group, charge'
that the board of. trustees itti
New York and the.chief admin-
istrators here are basically
frightened conservatives who
prefer stultifying compromise
to a fight for academic people.
The problems of the univer-
?Ity have been illustrated by
two recent disputes involving
faculty members, John Spagno-
lo, an assistant professor, and
Roland P. PUCCtti, an associ-
ate professor. ?
Professor Spagnolo was sec-
retary of the faculty commit-,
itee that conducted a course
known as Introduction to Cul-
tural Studies. While Professor
Spagnolo was at Oxford in 1961
earning a doctorate, the course
'committee chose w textbook
containing selections from
Western thinkers,
?
Attack on Mohammed.
, The chapter on Saint Thomas
ifiquilms included. a selection
;from the "Summa Contra Gen-
'tiles," in which the great Medic-
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release
nounced Islam and the Prophet
Mohammed for sensuality and
materialism. ?
The textbook is expensive,
and the university adopted a
practice of ? mimeographing
chapters for. distribution to stu-
dents. Professor Spagnolo gave
the order for mimeographing
the 'chapter on Saint Thomas,
although the lectures on the
Saint were given by a visiting
Jesuit professor, the Rev. James
Finnegan, from the neighbor-
ing French university of Saint
Joseph.
.A student to whom the Aqui-
nas .material was given- took it
to the extreme left-wing, pro-
Cairo newspaper. Al Shwa).
which Published a photocopy of
two paragraphs In which Saint
Thomas attacked 'slim. The
newspaper did not explain he
source of these paragraphs, but
said simply they were being dis-.
tributed at the American Uni-
versity and were. an insult to
Islam. ?
Students at the neighboring
Beirut Arab University, founded
five years ago with funds from
Cairo as a rival to the Ameri-
can university, threatened a
mass demonstration.
Dynamite Exploded
A stick of dynamite exploded
at the gateway to the American
university March 18 and Leban-
ese police arrested Professor
Spagnolo after- Midnight, 're-
voked Ms permit to work in the
country and ordered' him to
leave within 24 hours. The pro-
fessor is a Spanish national, So
he had no protection ? from any
power with influence in Leb-
anon. ". ? ?
The specter of religious vio-
lence in a country about equally
divided between Christians and
Moslems had frightened, the
Government. . ,
Professor Spat:tele, Was 'a can-
venient scapegoat, and the Gov-
criunent announced his deporta-
tion the next morning. The Arab
University demonstration was
called off. Although the depor-
tation order was revoked at the
airport at the last minute, the
Porfessor was warned that he
would remain at his own risk.
His work permit was not re-
stored.
He elected to fly to London.
The university continued to pay
his salary but has had no suc-
cess in obtaining permission for
him to return to work. Recently
Professor Sapgnolo accepted a
university post in British Co-
lumbia and there appears to be
no prospect that he will ever
return to the American Univer-
sity.
Facility members found the
blow to academic freedom a
shock, but the administration
of the school was persuaded to
give at least unofficial approval
to a cautious "Don't rock the
boat" attitude because the State
Department wants to assure the
survival of the American insti-
tution. Liberals have argued bit-
terly but unsuccessfully that
too high a price can be paid for
survival if the university and
faculty lose their freedom in the
process.
Four months after the Spag-
nolo incident Dr. Samuel Kirk-
wood, president of the univer-
sity, declined to comment on
the problem. His liberal critics
similarly have declined to talk
for attribution,
The case of Professor Pucetti
has also aroused liberal criti-
ciSrn. An.. outspoken atheist, he
began to teach at the University
in 1954. Although recommended
for. .a 'tenure appointment, he
was netified in 1964 that his
appointment would terminate In
September, OK
Professor Pucetti tuts
dharged .that he Was disiiiissed
because he was an atheist and
that Prof. Charles Malik, now
chairman of the philosophy de-
partment in which Professor
Pucetti taught the Philosophy
of Religion, was a major op-
ponent of his tenure appoint-
ment.
Professor Malik, A former
president of the United Nations
General Assembly, is a Leban-
ese Christian. Ile was not
chairman of the department
when the university decided
not to keep Professor Pucetti,
and he said recently that he
had not been formally conSulted
by university authorities on the
matter. He declined "to be
drawn into a controVersy" with
Professor PucettL.
President Kirkwood and Dr.
John A. Wilson, a member of
the board of trustees, said re-
cently that the decision to end
Professor Pucetti's connection
with the university was based
purely on academic considera-
tions and that his atheism was
not a factor,' '
A report on the case. pub-
lished this spring by the Amer-
ican Association of University
Professors said the writers of
the report had been unable to
determine whether there had
been a violation of .academic
freedom.
However, the report said that
because Professor Pucetti's ap-
pointment had been terminated
after more than 10 years' serv-
ice and because he had not
been given a hearing, "the
American Association of Uni-
versity Professors deeply re-
grets that this outpost of
United States education in the
Mideast has in this case not
seen fit to observe the prin-
ciples and practices of academ-
ic tenure and due process so(
widely approved in the United
State ." ? ? ??? ?,"
? s. e
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@ 50-Yr22013/12/18 : CIA-RDP73-00475R000101100001-4