High Drama in Arizona

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Dec 18, 2000 | by Andrea Billups

A celebrated court case focusing on academic freedom is settled before a jury could render a verdict ... but not before the media chimed in.

Acclaimed drama professor Jared Sakren, who charged he was ousted unfairly from his department by radical feminists who disagreed with his teaching of Shakespeare and other classic authors, has settled his case with Arizona State University (ASU). Under a deal struck after five weeks of trial and a day before scheduled closing arguments, the Arizona Board of Regents agreed to pay Sakren $395,000, the equivalent of about six years of salary. The settlement ended four years of legal wrangling amid charges of political correctness in academia that spurred a vigorous national debate.

Sakren, who trained at the Juilliard School and whose former students include actors Annette Bening, Val Kilmer and Frances McDormand, filed suit against the university in 1997 after his teaching contract was not renewed. He claimed that his theatrical choices were deemed by some colleagues as "sexist Euro-American male" plays; he also claimed that his refusal to bow to pressure and teach pro-feminist works -- including one postmodern play promoted by some faculty members, Betty the Yeti: An Eco-Fable -- cost him his job.

ASU argued that Sakren's contract was not renewed because of leadership problems and his inability to get along with his colleagues. After he went public with his case and it drew widespread media attention, the university circulated a letter to college drama programs and their alumni across the country, defending its position. One such recipient of the school's missive was Bening, an Oscar nominee and wife of actor Warren Beatty, who testified at the trial in defense of her former professor.

Sakren, who was highly recruited, left the Alabama Shakespeare Festival to take over ASU's graduate acting program in 1994. In 1996, after fending off criticism within his department, Sakren lost his job. He then filed suit against the Tempe, Ariz., university for employment discrimination, meanwhile supporting his family by working as a financial planner.

ASU declared the settlement with Sakren to be in "the best interest of everyone involved." The university noted that despite a jury verdict, lengthy appeals likely would follow. "Jared Sakren's moral character and the quality of his theater artistry have never been an issue for ASU, and any inference to the contrary by the media or other publication would be in error" administrators said in the statement. "ASU's theatre department reaffirms its commitment to balanced training, including training for, and production of the classics. ASU stands behind its commitment to academic freedom for its faculty, tenured or not. ASU's academic-freedom policy has protected and continues to protect teaching methodology and course subject matter."

As a part of the settlement, Sakren cannot publicly comment about his case. Several observers, however, including Winfield Myers of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute in Wilmington, Del., lauded Sakren for his determination in seeing his case through. "He emerges from this nightmare unscathed and unbowed" says Myers, who adds that Sakren's diligence during the last four years "demonstrates the price paid by academics who refuse to cheat their students of an education."

Continues Myers,"It's a testament to his integrity that he suffered being blacklisted by his peers when he had only to compromise his principles as so many others have done. Then again, integrity and honor are their own rewards and can be lost more easily than any mere academic appointment."

While the Sakren case never made it to a jury in the second trial, Thor L. Halvorssen, executive director of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education in Philadelphia, says the settlement sends a "clear message to college administrations everywhere that there is financial price to pay for violating academic freedom." He calls the award "a victory" and says he was glad that Sakren finally had some closure in a matter drawn out far too long.