Eugene Genovese is fired by Rutgers University from Today in Alternate History
September 26, 2012: On this day anti-American
academic dissident Eugene Dominic Genovese died in political exile in
Montreal, Canada, at the age of eighty-two. Born in Brooklyn, New
York he was raised in a working-class ethnic Italian family. Genovese
earned his Bachelor of Arts from Brooklyn College in 1953 and his Master
of Arts in 1955 and a Ph.D. in history in 1959, both from Columbia
University.
Six
years later, while teaching at a Rutgers University "teach-in" protest, he stated, "Those of you
who know me know that I am a Marxist and a Socialist. Therefore, unlike
most of my distinguished colleagues here this morning, I do not fear or
regret the impending Viet Cong victory in Vietnam. I welcome it." His was an
explosively controversial comment that was widely reported and generated
a backlash of criticism. Politicians questioned Genovese's judgment and
sensitivity to the responsibility inherent in being a Rutgers
professor. But no state laws or university regulations had been broken,
and Genovese was supported by fellow faculty members on grounds of
academic freedom.
The dispute was taken to another level of
intensity when former Vice President Richard Nixon came out and called
for his dismissal. He was supporting Wayne Dumont, a gubernatorial
candidate that was challenging Governor Richard J. Hughes, and he
decided to use Genovese's statement as a campaign issue. When Rutgers reluctantly fired Genovese, events began to unravel that
would affect not only his career but those of Dumont, Hughes and of
course Nixon.
Author's Note: In reality, Rutgers President Mason
Gross refused to re-examine the university's position, and Dumont lost
to Governor Hughes. President Gross' defence of academic freedom was
honoured by the American Association of University Professors, who
presented him and Rutgers with its Alexander Meiklejohn Award in 1966.
Genovese moved to Canada and taught at Sir George Williams University in
Montreal (1967-69). In 1968, Genovese signed the "Writers and Editors
War Tax Protest" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest
against the Vietnam War.
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