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President Joel Seligman's statement regarding Arun Gandhi’s resignation
January 25, 2008
Arun Gandhi has now resigned as president of the board of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence. He was not a member of our faculty or of our staff. When I met with him yesterday after he resigned, he gave me a copy of his resignation letter that recognized that language in his recent Washington Post blog "was hurtful and contrary to the principles of nonviolence" and he deeply regretted "the pain, anger, confusion, and embarrassment" caused by his words.
A fundamental value of the University of Rochester is a commitment to diversity and inclusiveness. We welcome and support all who teach, study, learn, or work here. Our commitment to diversity and inclusiveness occurs simultaneously with our fundamental commitment to the value of ideas and of free speech.
Universities exist and best serve all of us if they foster open and virtually unregulated teaching, research, discussion and debate, including viewpoints that are diametrically opposed to each other. A University's role in society is not to impose intellectual orthodoxy, but to provide the opportunity to develop and articulate opinions or beliefs that may be unpopular or little believed. We progress because we are a marketplace for ideas, the most enduring of which often only emerge after considerable debate and initial doubt. We all benefit from the tradition of rational debate within our universities in which we have the opportunity to bring together people, often with long and tragic histories of grievances and violent interactions, to speak freely to each other.
Arun Gandhi's January 7 statement in the Washington Post's "On Faith" blog did not reflect the core values of the University of Rochester or the values of the M.K. Gandhi Institute itself. Under the circumstances, I believe that Arun Gandhi's resignation was appropriate.
The M.K. Gandhi Institute itself is separate from Arun Gandhi and will continue its mission here. The Institute is not formally part of the University of Rochester, but has been provided space and staff support at the University since it moved here in June 2007. The Institute's mission is to educate about nonviolent conflict resolution and to inspire and support efforts that promote harmony among people.
The University of Rochester will host a forum later this year to provide Arun Gandhi, a leader of the Jewish community and other speakers the opportunity to address the issues raised by Mr. Gandhi's statements and related issues. A University can and should promote dialogue in which we can learn from each other even when the most painful or difficult issues will be discussed.
