Simon Fraser University has settled a lawsuit with David Noble, an outspoken professor who said he had been denied a humanities appointment at the British Columbia institution because of his strong criticism of the use of technology in academe.
The settlement completes a saga that started six years ago, when a Simon Fraser search committee nominated Mr. Noble, a professor of history at York University, in Ontario, to hold its J.S. Woodsworth Chair in the Humanities. Administrators at Simon Fraser blocked the appointment, arguing that Mr. Noble’s curriculum vitae was too short and his personal style too abrasive.
But Mr. Noble said he had been blackballed because of his vehement opposition to online education, a stance expressed most famously in a series of articles called “Digital Diploma Mills.”
In 2003 the Canadian Association of University Teachers issued a report chiding Simon Fraser officials and recommending that the university renew its invitation to the controversial professor. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Noble filed suit, and the report -- which had been released only to the professor and the university -- was leaked to the news media. Simon Fraser administrators disputed the report’s findings, reiterating their stance that the university’s appointment process had worked properly.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed, and Mr. Noble said on Wednesday that he was prohibited from discussing the deal. But he said he was glad to see the protracted legal wrangling, which he called “a slog,” come to an end.
“I’m pleased at the outcome, and that Simon Fraser has recognized the consequences of its actions,” Mr. Noble said.
The professor was gratified in part because Simon Fraser issued an apology in its written statement on the settlement. “The university recognizes that it made mistakes when applying its policies to Dr. Noble’s candidacy for the J.S. Woodsworth Chair,” the statement said. “Given the complexity of the process for appointment to a university chair, the outcome of Dr. Noble’s candidacy, had these mistakes not been made, remains uncertain. However, the university acknowledges that the mistakes it made had a personal impact on Dr. Noble.”
Although Mr. Noble has settled with Simon Fraser, the professor still has a lawsuit pending against his own institution. In 2005 he sued York, arguing that the university had defamed him when it issued a statement condemning material he handed out at a campus event as “targeting Jewish members of the York community.”
Mr. Noble, who is Jewish, is seeking 10 million Canadian dollars, or $9.6 million, in damages from the university. He has also sued York’s fund-raising foundation and several local Jewish groups over their roles in the incident.
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