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Statement from Professor Madonna G. Constantine
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 21, 2008
Dear Teachers College Community:
I am outraged by the President's memo that summarized the outcomes of a "neutral" investigation that I used the work of others without appropriate attribution. The premature, vindictive, and mean-spirited action taken by the administration to release a statement to the faculty regarding the results of this biased and flawed investigation reflects not only a profound lack of sensitivity and due process, but it also may have sufficiently "poisoned the well" for any fair and objective review of the matter. These actions are historically unprecedented at Teachers College. I am left to wonder whether a White faculty member would have been treated in such a publicly disrespectful and disparaging manner.
The evidence that I have presented establishing my innocence has been ignored, even when independent third parties have corroborated it. Evidence showing my accusers to have lied also has been ignored. The biased manner in which the investigation was conducted indicates it was designed to reach a foregone conclusion. My accusers who themselves were exposed to accusations of plagiarism of my work were given "indemnification" by Teachers College, to "cooperate" in the investigation. This is tantamount to giving transactional immunity. People willing to stand for the truth of what they are saying do not require indemnification. Furthermore, an investigation in which indemnification is granted to one party and not the other is certainly not neutral. From my perspective, the investigation and the entire process surrounding its outcome are reflective of the structural racism that pervades this institution.
Evidence regarding my case will be presented to the Faculty Advisory Committee at Teachers College as soon as my attorneys and I can coordinate my appeal. It is my opinion that this investigation, along with other incidents that have happened to me at Teachers College in recent months, point to a conspiracy and witch-hunt by certain current and former members of the Teachers College community. I believe that nothing that has happened to me this year is coincidental, particularly when I reflect upon the hate crime I experienced last semester involving a noose on my office door. As one of only two tenured Black women full professors at Teachers College, it pains me to conclude that I have been specifically and systematically targeted.
There have been attempts by the Teachers College administration to intimidate and blackmail me into leaving the College by insisting that I sign a false statement related to the aforementioned investigation. I refused to sign it! I would never admit to doing something that I did not do. My due process has been violated repeatedly by the administration of Teachers College. In light of the hateful events to which I have been subjected this year, I am saddened by the hypocrisy of an institution that purports to stand for social justice and equity.
Sincerely,
Professor Madonna G. Constantine
2/20/08
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The first thing Professor Constantine professor did wrong was take a job at Teachers College. The programs in Psychology had been place under probation by the American Psychological Association before she was hired, and the Counseling Program was not functioning properly years before her first day of work there, which means she was walking into a bad situation to start with. To come into a conservative school that has multicultural courses to "appear liberal" and discuss race was the other mistake. Third, the programs in psychology at Teachers College are not true prepartion or at all relavant for what awaits a professional once they graduate. They do not focus on any of the skills
that are relevant to the field or to the world of work in general. The non-education programs at Teachers College are mere money makers for the school. I hope Professor
Constantine will take what was a bad situation, that got worse the longer she stayed there, and go on with her professional and personal life. In academia, for black professors or black students the way they discredit you, or stop you is to accuse you of plagarism.
Perhaps this is the lesson she and others can take from her experience at Teacher College.
she was good for her community, i think, counseling + psychology, for AA's. not bad.
she was charged with plagarism from her students? did her students write that well? geez!
she should swallow her loss. unless it was a 6 figure salary, which many are, at these cushion elitist institutions.
Perhaps you were fired because you did something wrong and not at all because you're black. Did that ever occur to you? It doesn't make a particularly strong case that an institution, educational or otherwise, would fire you or anyone else soely on the basis of color. However, giving the benefit of the doubt, you should take this to trial and allow all of the evidence you spoke of in your very articulate and eloquent blog to come forth.
Nigs
We are outraged that you still have a job at TC.
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