Thursday, June 21, 2001

Professor Who Lied About War Experience Cancels NEH Talk and Drops His Course on Vietnam By ANA MARIE COX Joseph J. Ellis, the acclaimed colonial historian at Mount Holyoke College who recently confessed to making false claims about serving in Vietnam, will no longer teach the American-culture course that appeared to have sparked his tales of wartime experience. He has also canceled an appearance scheduled for tonight as the keynote speaker for a program celebrating the 35th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The news that Mr. Ellis would not be teaching his class on the Vietnam War came after the release late Tuesday of a statement by the president of Mount Holyoke, Joanne V. Creighton. Mr. Ellis has refused to speak directly to reporters. Ms. Creighton acknowledged that Mr. Ellis had admitted his false claims to her personally and that he had offered "his deepest apologies." She avoided specifying what further actions Mount Holyoke might take in the matter. Rather, she lamented "the effect of his misrepresentation," a sentiment that echoed the language of Mr. Ellis's statement on Monday, in which he said he regretted "having let stand and later confirming" people's "assumption" that he had served in Vietnam. Ms. Creighton did note that in the weeks ahead, "Professor Ellis and I will talk further and begin to repair the damage." A listing of history classes at Mount Holyoke shows that even before Mr. Ellis had confessed to using made-up stories about Vietnam in class lectures, he was not scheduled to teach his Vietnam course next year. Sources close to Mr. Ellis said they were surprised by the cancellation of his N.E.H. appearance. As of Wednesday afternoon, his publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, believed that the event would go forward. But an N.E.H. spokesman confirmed that Mr. Ellis had withdrawn; the keynote speaker tonight will instead be the historian John Hope Franklin. Andrew Burstein, a professor of history at the University of Tulsa and a former colleague of Mr. Ellis's at Mount Holyoke, said backing out of the N.E.H. keynote address was an uncharacteristic move for Mr. Ellis, even considering the hailstorm of publicity that followed revelations about his falsified personal history. "He's the kind of guy who bounces back quickly," said Mr. Burstein, a colonial historian who will be speaking next week at the National Archives, in Washington, as part of a lecture series in which Mr. Ellis will speak as well. Mr. Burstein also thought that the Mount Holyoke professor's passion for bringing his scholarly work into a public forum would, for Mr. Ellis, outweigh the ramifications of the controversy. An editorial Wednesday in The Boston Globe, which first reported on Mr. Ellis's fabrications, criticized him for "disillusioning" his students. An op-ed piece by David J. Garrow, a professor at Emory University School of Law, went further, calling on Mr. Ellis to "remove himself from teaching." Should Mr. Ellis not leave the classroom voluntarily, wrote Mr. Garrow, then Mount Holyoke should dismiss him. In any case, Mr. Garrow argued, Mr. Ellis should be "barred from ever teaching history again." Mr. Garrow took issue also with how Mount Holyoke has responded to the press coverage. He cited Ms. Creighton's assertions that the college was "proud" of Mr. Ellis, and said that "Creighton appears to be saying that they have a dramatically lower standard for truth-in-teaching at Mount Holyoke College than what is imposed upon professors' published writings." Ms. Creighton released a letter in response to the Globe's opinion pieces. She asserted that her initial reaction to the reports was based on the fact that at the time she herself did not believe Mr. Ellis to have fabricated his personal history. Now that the truth has come to light, she wrote, "it is the duty of the college to investigate the facts ... and to move ahead judiciously and justly." Background article from The Chronicle: Prominent Historian Apologizes After Newspaper Says He Lied About Being a Vietnam Veteran (6/19/2001) Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

British newspaper ranks world institutions by influence of research Professor who lied about war experience cancels N.E.H. talk and drops his course on Vietnam Trustees vote to raise in-state tuition at Clemson U. by nearly 42 percent Investment debacle involving benefactor could prove costly to U. of Oregon N.C.A.A. places New Mexico State U. on probation for 4 years Foundation to give $326-million for Canadian-Qatari technology college in the Mideast Online bookseller ecampus.com files for bankruptcy protection A professor uses cell phones in class to check students' comprehension Bill to ease restrictions on distance providers is praised at hearing