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CASE STUDY
University of Michigan Student Recommendation Incident
In 2018 , the University of Michigan disciplined John Cheney- Lippold , a cultural studies professor , for refusing to provide letters of recommendation to a student seeking to study in Israel . Cheney-Lippold initially agreed to write a letter in support of a Jewish student ’ s application to a study-abroad program . However , after discovering that the program would be at Tel Aviv University , Cheney-Lippold withdrew his offer , citing the “ academic boycott against Israel in support of Palestinians living in Palestine .”
The university reprimanded Cheney-Lippold , informing him that his “ conduct has fallen far short of the University ’ s and College ’ s expectations for how . . . faculty interact with and treat students ,” warning that his “ behavior in this circumstance was inappropriate and will not be tolerated ,” and insisting that “ a student ’ s merit should be your primary guide for determining how and whether to provide a letter of recommendation ,” and that he was “ not to use student requests for recommendations as a platform to discuss your personal political beliefs .”
While professors and instructors have broad discretion over the content and manner of their teaching , they cannot use their power over student grades and recommendations to advance or penalize student viewpoints unrelated to academic work . However , unless a professor openly admits that they are making decisions for non-academic reasons , it is exceedingly difficult to obtain meaningful redress .