The growing public feud between Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger and Richard W. Bulliet, a professor of Islamic studies, demonstrates the price academics pay when they invite controversial figures to speak on campus, according to Bnai Haman.
As reported in The Washington Post on Sunday, December 16, 2007, Columbia University is still roiled by the speech of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad nearly three months later. Ahmadinejad spoke on campus on September 24, 2007.
Both Bulliet, who invited Ahmadinejad to speak, and Bollinger, who defended the invitation and then introduced Ahmadinejad, have come under intense criticism for their roles.
Now, as the Post reported, Bulliet is openly criticizing Bollinger. "There have been an accumulation of events since Bollinger arrived that have people riled up," Bulliet told the Post. "I have never seen a situation quite like this one, and I've been here for 32 years."
Bnai Haman, a group of Columbia University alumni and concerned citizens, writes on its web site (www.leebollinger-bnaihaman.com) that it isn't surprising to see such infighting surface in the wake of the Ahmadinejad speech.
"Although Lee Bollinger told the Post that he would like to put the speech behind him, the choice isn't his," Bnai Haman says. "The lesson to be learned here by other academic institutions is that actions such as those of Bollinger and Bulliet can derail everything else on your agenda. So think carefully before you step into the abyss."
Bnai Haman is dedicated to reminding the world of the Ahmadinejad speech at Columbia, an event it has dubbed a "stain on the University's soul."