Rick Mehta
Rick Mehta is a Canadian psychologist, a controversial free-speech advocate, and formerly an associate professor of psychology at Acadia University, whose faculty he joined in 2003. Mehta was dismissed from Acadia on August 31, 2018 amid controversies of free speech and his role as a professor.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Education and academic activities[edit]
Mehta was awarded a B.Sc. in neuroscience from the University of Toronto Scarborough in 1993 and an M.Sc. in psychopharmacology from McGill University in 1996. He completed his Ph.D. at McGill and a three-year post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Winnipeg before joining the Acadia faculty in 2003.[9]
Controversies[edit]
![[icon]](/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion with: text readily composed from the references already present here and in the intro. You can help by adding to it. (November 2018) |
Residential schools and defense of Senator Lynn Beyak[edit]
In January 2018, Mehta drew controversy after he defended Canadian Senator Lynn Beyak against Conservative leader Andrew Scheer on Twitter. Beyak had recently been expelled from the Conservative caucus by Scheer, for statements related to her defense of residential schools. One petition calling for Mehta's firing and another petition in his defense were circulated.[10][11][12] In a wide-ranging January 12 interview, Mehta discussed residential schools, decolonization, TRC, multiculturalism, sexual harassment, free speech, and hate speech.[13]
Investigation, change of teaching assignments, and dismissal by Acadia University[edit]
A Feb. 13 letter to Mehta from Heather Hemming, Acadia's vice-president academic, outline the university's concerns about Mehta.[14]
On February 21, an article in APTN National News quoted an Acadia spokesperson to the effect that the University was finding ways for students to avoid taking courses from Mehta.[15] By Feb. 26, Mehta had stated to CBC.ca that "after several years of teaching the large sections of the required introductory psychology courses", Acadia had "changed his teaching allocation so that he's teaching smaller courses."[14]
On March 4, The Canadian Press reported that a Feb. 26 letter from Mehta's designated department head detailed some of the complaints against Mehta. The article quotes a letter from Mark Mercer, president of the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship, to Heather Hemming in part: "I have read many of Dr. Mehta’s postings and it is difficult to see how anything in them could be construed as discriminatory or harassing".[2]
Mehta was dismissed from Acadia on August 31, 2018. He published a letter from the university claiming that he had breached the privacy of a student who was a sexual-assault survivor, that he had harassed colleagues, and that he had spent much of his class time on material irrelevant to the course curriculum.[7]
Organizations involved in dismissal controversy[edit]
CBC.ca reported on March 20 that the Canadian Association of University Teachers had launched an inquiry into Acadia's handling of complaints against Mehta. CAUT executive director David Robinson said the facts raise "issues around academic freedom and free speech that we believe would have implications for academic staff across the country." CBC.ca stated, "Robinson said a two-person committee will review Acadia's investigation to determine if Mehta's academic freedom was breached or threatened and then make recommendations."[12][16]
Upon his firing, the Acadia University Faculty Association announced that it planned to pursue arbitration on Mehta’s behalf.[6]
Cancellation of panel discussion at McMaster[edit]
A panel discussion featuring Mehta, scheduled for March 29, 2018 at McMaster University, was cancelled by its sponsor Overcome the Gap: campus security had indicated they would not be able to guarantee safety, and another panel member had refused to participate after learning that Mehta was involved. A speech at McMaster by Jordan B. Peterson, sponsored by the same group, had been cut short the previous March, having been disrupted by protesters.[17][18]
References[edit]
- ↑ Brake, Justin (Feb 27, 2018). "Acadia University to investigate professor after racist comments". www.aptnnews.ca. APTN National News. Retrieved Nov 24, 2018.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bundale, Brett (March 4, 2018). "Acadia University investigation of professor intensifies campus free-speech debate". www.capebretonpost.com. The Canadian Press. Retrieved Oct 23, 2018.
- ↑ Prentiss, Mairin (Sep 7, 2018). "Controversial professor Rick Mehta fired from Acadia University". CBC.ca. Retrieved Oct 23, 2018.
- ↑ "Controversial Nova Scotia professor Rick Mehta fired after fire storm over comments". www.theglobeandmail.com. The Canadian Press. September 7, 2018. Retrieved Nov 19, 2018.
- ↑ Mitchell, Colin (Sep 8, 2018). "Controversial Professor Dismissed from University". theath.ca. The Athenaeum. Retrieved Nov 19, 2018.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Flaherty, Colleen (Sep 10, 2018). "Acadia Fires Professor Who Called Multiculturalism a Scam". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved Nov 19, 2018.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Prentiss, Mairin (Sep 12, 2018). "Controversial prof fired for privacy breach, harassment, Acadia letter reveals". CBC.ca. Retrieved Nov 19, 2018.
- ↑ "Acadia University investigating professor after complaints over controversial views". www.theglobeandmail.com. The Canadian Press. Feb 26, 2018. Retrieved Oct 23, 2018.
- ↑ Kroll, Mallory (Sep 17, 2017). "Dr. Rick Mehta on his Teaching Style, Research and Thoughts on Free Speech". theath.ca. The Athenaeum. Retrieved Nov 21, 2018.
- ↑ Patil, Anjuli (Jan 15, 2018). "Petition calls for Acadia prof to be fired for social media posts". CBC.ca. Retrieved Oct 23, 2018.
- ↑ Bundale, Brett (Jan 18, 2018). "Outspoken professor stokes free-speech debate at East Coast university". www.globalnews.ca. The Canadian Press. Retrieved Nov 23, 2018.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Patil, Anjuli (Mar 20, 2018). "Inquiry launched into Acadia's investigation of controversial prof". CBC.ca. Retrieved Nov 25, 2018.
- ↑ Mitchell, Colin (Jan 13, 2018). "The Right to Offend: Q&A with Dr. Rick Mehta". theath.ca. The Athenaeum. Retrieved Nov 25, 2018.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Bundale, Brett (Feb 26, 2018). "Acadia University launches investigation into controversial professor". CBC.ca. Retrieved Oct 23, 2018.
- ↑ Brake, Justin (Feb 21, 2018). "The 'Beyak Effect': Fighting anti-Indigenous racism and settler denialism in Canada". www.aptnnews.ca. Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, National News. Retrieved Nov 24, 2018.
- ↑ Quon, Alexander (Mar 20, 2018). "Teachers association launches inquiry into Acadia's investigation of controversial free speech professor". Global News. Retrieved Nov 25, 2018.
- ↑ Piper, Greg (March 29, 2018). "Student group cancels discussion on free speech because of generalized 'safety' concerns". www.thecollegefix.com. The College Fix. Retrieved Nov 21, 2018.
- ↑ Mahoney, Jeff (March 29, 2018). "More 'free speech' fuzzies scrub Mac event". www.thespec.com. The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved Nov 19, 2018.
External links[edit]
- Rick Mehta on IMDb
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