Clark University Holocaust studies center head exits for 'warmer welcome' at Assumption

WORCESTER — Saying she felt a warmer reception as a Jew and a scholar at a Catholic university, the former executive director of Clark University's Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies announced in a Wall Street Journal editorial that she was leaving Clark for Assumption University.

"I can no longer function effectively at an academic institution that thinks shouting a speaker down is tolerable but introducing a speaker with whose views people disagree isn’t," Mary Jane Rein wrote in the Sunday op-ed.

Rein wrote in the op-ed that three Clark doctorate students from the Strassler Center told her to step down and threatened to have her investigated following her organizing of a March 13 event at Worcester State University that hosted Israeli Defense Forces Special Forces Commander Shahar Peled.

The event, which was organized in partnership with a history professor at Worcester State University and the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts, was advertised as a discussion from a first responder to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and other Palestinian militants.

The event was disrupted by pro-Palestinian activists. Videos of the disruption published to social media showed what sounded like a fire alarm being pulled while advocates shouted that the IDF were terrorists and that Peled is a supporter of genocide.

Rein wrote in her op-ed that the Clark doctorate students shouted that Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts head Steven Schimmel not use Rein's title in his introduction because her views do not represent the Strassler Center. Rein wrote that she organized the event in her private capacity.

According to Rein's telling, the three students demanded Rein resign after the event. The students also reportedly called for an investigation in part related to views Rein expressed in a January Telegram & Gazette op-ed about Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Rein also claimed that a senior administrator at Clark "admonished" her against using her university affiliation for non-Clark events, deeming such use "highly problematic" and that it would associate her actions with Clark. Rein said she did not mention her title during her remarks or for event advertisements.

The issue about the use of her Clark title for organizing non-Clark events had never been an issue over the previous two decades, Rein claims.

She also wrote that the administrator responded to her questions saying faculty who draw on research and expertise can speak freely while her use of an administrative title for events would create confusion.

"I suspected I was being asked to censor myself on the basis of my Jewish identity and support for Israel, as I inferred there would be professional consequences if I presented that disfavored view," Rein wrote.

Rein also announced her move to Assumption to help launch the new Center for Civic Friendship.

"To my surprise as both a scholar and a Jew, I feel a warmer welcome and more commonality of purpose at a Catholic institution than at Clark, a secular one," Rein wrote. "I find common cause with Assumption and have chosen to align myself with its mission to pursue truth in the company of friends."

Assumption announced the launch of the Center for Civic Friendship on social media Sunday, the same day Rein's op-ed was published.

According to Assumption's website, the center aims to be "a national resource" to model friendly and civil disagreement. An introduction from university president Greg Weiner states other universities have not handled dissenting opinions well.

"Polarization—whether over politics, religion, or other divides—is paralyzing our society," Weiner wrote. "Many universities aren’t helping. From either direction of the spectrum, students feel pressure to believe what they’re told and to avoid saying what they really think. Assumption University’s vision—embodied in an exciting and innovative new initiative—is different."

Weiner, according to Assumption, is the first Jewish president of a Catholic university in the United States.

The center will be housed at the Office of Academic Affairs. In written response to questions from the Telegram & Gazette, Weiner said the center has been in discussion for about a year as part of the university's 10-year strategic plan.

"Among other efforts, this initiative will convene scholars who explore the concept of civic friendship, its possibilities and boundaries, and what makes it harder or easier to achieve. It will cultivate the virtue of civic friendship in students and teachers at Assumption and across the nation," Weiner's introduction read.

Responding to the Telegram & Gazette, Weiner said the university already hosts related programming such as "Disputed Questions" events.

In response to Telegram & Gazette questions, a Clark University spokesperson shared a statement that the university does not usually address employment matters in public, but would address some claims that Rein made in her op-ed.

According to the statement, any employee is free to express their personal views through its freedom of expression policy, including Rein.

The statement claims Rein was not admonished. However, as a non-faculty administrator Rein was given guidance after the event about "appropriately clarifying" when participation in future events is in a professional or personal capacity.

"This is important because it avoids confusion by making clear when an administrator is representing the University. We would provide this guidance to any administrator at Clark University regardless of religion, identity or political views," the statement said.

The spokesperson said the event discussed in the op-ed happened on another campus and Clark would have intervened to handle the disruption if it happened on campus in a manner "consistent with our community standards and policies articulated in our Student Code of Conduct."

The code of conduct notes that Clark students are responsible for their behavior outside Clark's confines. However, the university may take disciplinary action when there are violations of federal, state and local laws.

Clark's campus climate, the statement said, is that there have been various gatherings related to the situation in the Middle East focusing on different views on the matter including faculty-led events, that have been respectful.

"No speaker at Clark University has been shouted down or otherwise prevented from speaking. We have every reason to expect this will continue," the statement said.

"Our role and responsibility as an institution of higher education is to convene, debate, discuss, and explore different perspectives. We challenge convention by creating an environment where everyone benefits from a broader world view and deeper understanding of one another. We empower critical thinking," the statement said.

A call for comment to Rein was not immediately returned Monday.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Clark Holocaust and genocide studies head resigns to go to Assumption