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Policy

Academic freedom

July 3, 2006 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 84, Issue 27

After reading the article about Arizona State University and the Center for Cancer Research (CCR) (C&EN, Feb. 13, page 86), I regretted that I was unaware of this disgraceful violation of academic freedom until now. Clearly, attracting George Robert (Bob) Pettit to ASU increased the prestige of the university's chemistry program and the graduates of the university's related programs. Clearly, a difference of opinion between Pettit and the upper administration was allowed to lead to severe damage to CCR and the university. I was amazed that no mention of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) was made, because the academic freedom of the CCR faculty was ignored.

Understandably, sponsored research may suffer variations in the level of funding over time, but an edict from the upper administration ensures a serious illness for a program, probably a fatal illness. In my opinion, this is clearly a violation of academic freedom, unless some serious violation of research or other academic protocol has been shown to have occurred. I am surprised AAUP has not been informed considering the manner in which the CCR faculty and Pettit have been treated. As an organic chemist with an interest in cancer research, I am concerned about the effect this action by the ASU administration will have on the CCR faculty and the medical chemical cancer research they could have done.

Robert E. Lyle
San Antonio

CORRECTION

June 5, page 4: A*STAR was misidentified as the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology. It is the Agency for Science, Technology & Research. The Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology is one of the research institutes under A*STAR.

June 5, page 28: The formation of the second compound should be 2-bromo-5-fluorobenzonitrile.

June 5, page 33: Allovectin-7 was incorrectly identified as a plasma-lipid complex. It is a plasmid-lipid complex.

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