(NAME-MCE) Tenure for Andrea Smith

[Anselmo Villanueva]

Native Feminism Without Apology!

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                            February 25, 2008
 Statement of University of Michigan Students and Faculty in Support of
 Andrea Smith's Tenure Case
 CONTACT: TenureForAndreaSmith at gmail.com

 On February 22nd, 2008, University of Michigan's College of
 Literature, Science and the Arts (LSA) issued a negative tenure
 recommendation for Assistant Professor Andrea Lee Smith. Jointly
 appointed in the Program in American Culture and the Department of
 Women's Studies, Dr. Smith's body of scholarship exemplifies scholarly
 excellence with widely circulated articles in peer-reviewed journals
 and numerous books in both university and independent presses
 including Native Americans and the Christian Right published this year
 by Duke University Press.  Dr. Smith is one of the greatest indigenous
 feminist intellectuals of our time. A nominee for the 2005 Nobel Peace
 Prize, Dr. Smith has an outstanding academic and community record of
 service that is internationally and nationally recognized. She is a
 dedicated professor and mentor and she is an integral member of the
 University of Michigan (UM) intellectual community. Her reputation and
 pedagogical practices draw undergraduate and graduate students from
 all over campus and the nation.

 Dr. Smith received the news about her tenure case while participating
 in the United States' hearings before the Convention on the
 Elimination of Racial Discrimination at the United Nations in Geneva,
 Switzerland. Ironically, during those very same hearings, the 2003
 U.S. Supreme Court decisions that restricted affirmative action
 policies at UM specifically were cited as violations of international
 law. At the same time, there is an undeniable link between the
 Department of Women's Studies and LSA's current tenure recommendations
 and the long history of institutional restrictions against faculty of
 color. In 2008, students of color are coming together to protest the
 way UM's administration has fostered an environment wherein faculty of
 color are few and far between, Ethnic Studies course offerings have
 little financial and institutional support, and student services for
 students of color are decreasing each year.

 To Support Professor Andrea Smith:  The Provost must hear our
 responses!  Write letters in support of Andrea Smith's tenure case.
 Address email letters to ALL of the following:

 Teresa Sullivan, Provost and Executive VP for Academic Affairs, LSA,
 tsull at umich.edu
 Lester Monts, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, LSA, lmonts at umich.edu
 Mary Sue Coleman, President, PresOff at umich.edu
 TenureForAndreaSmith at gmail.com
 Voice your ideas on the web forum at http://www.woclockdown.org/

 To Support Women of Color at Michigan and the Crisis of Women's
 Studies and Ethnic Studies:  Attend the student organized March 15th
 Conference at UM!!!! Campus Lockdown: Women of Color Negotiating the
 Academic Industrial Complex is free and open to the public.  Speakers
 include renowned activists and scholars Piya Chatterjee, Angela Davis,
 Rosa Linda Fregoso, Ruthie Gilmore, Fred Moten, Clarissa Rojas, and
 Haunani-Kay Trask.

For more information and to register, visit:
 http://www.woclockdown.org/.