University President Lee Bollinger will still be called “professor” in the fall, even though the free speech class he traditionally teaches has been cancelled.
According to the University, Bollinger will be teaching a different course focused on global free speech, and information about that will likely be posted within a week.
He had been listed as teaching the undergraduate class “Freedom of Speech and Press” until the beginning of this week, when the course was no longer listed as available for Fall 2010.
Bowen deferred comment to University spokesperson Robert Hornsby, who explained that Bollinger was simply changing plans. “President Bollinger will not be teaching the same class, he will be teaching a class on Global Free Press,” Hornsby said in an emailed statement on Tuesday.
At a fireside chat Bollinger hosted for graduate students on Tuesday night, he confirmed that there is confusion because he has not made an official announcement yet.
“I want to teach a course on this, and I’ve got several speakers,” Bollinger said, adding that he wasn’t sure how it would be structured though availability to undergraduates was possible.
There was no other information available about the global press course by Tuesday night, and there is currently no class in the online Directory of Classes or Columbia College Bulletin with Bollinger listed as the instructor.
There seemed to be some confusion this week about Bollinger’s plans for teaching next semester. According to Professor Jack Snyder, the director of undergraduate studies for the political science department, “President Bollinger’s course assistant, Paul Bowen, told our staff that Bollinger is unable to teach the course due to the fact that he has a very busy schedule during the fall semester.”
Bollinger is a first amendment scholar whose latest book, “Uninhibited, Robust, and Wide-Open: A Free Press for a New Century” focuses on American media’s interactions with the world.
In an interview on April 5 after an event at which he talked about the themes of the book, Bollinger told Spectator that he was “trying to get an undergraduate course together” on the topic.
Students who took “Freedom of Speech and Press” last semester spoke highly of the course, which Bollinger teaches in the law school format of calling on two students each class to defend opposing points.
“Everyone knew he’s going to tear your point to shreds, he’s a genius. But everyone came in trying to prove themselves, dreaming of the day that you would give an answer that was perfect,” Christina Olenick, CC ’11, said.
Cara Buchanan, CC ’11, said the course fueled her interest in human rights and served as an interesting opportunity to interact with Bollinger outside of fireside chats.
“He was very open to answering questions about ongoing things on campus,” like the Manhattanville expansion, she said. “He took the class seriously—even when he left to introduce the president of Argentina, he left and came right back.”
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