The Candor Exercises began as a single class assignment in a course called ECE C96 - Engineering Design & Entrepreneurship which I taught in Northwestern University's Electrical & Computer Engineering Department. The course syllabus contained an element required by the Acceditation Board for Engineering Technology (ABET) on ethics and social responsibility in engineering.

In the Spring, 1996 Quarter, I discovered that Northwestern University management was permitting the use of its INTERNET WWW server by Prof. Arthur Butz, a tenured faculty member in the ECE Department, to broadcast Holocaust-Revisionist propoganda alleging that Nazi acts of genocide during the Third Reich against Jews, Gypsies and other victims did not occur. When my protests and petitions to the Chairman of the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department, the Dean and the President - all of whom are Jewish - were rejected, I published CANDOR - The Language of Engineering on the WWW.

The purpose of the CANDOR - The Language of Engineering exercise was twofold. First, it provided a laboratory exercise with which my students could explore factual, ethical and social responsibility issues of the Holocaust. Second, it serverd as a forum for examining those same issues with respect to the actions of the ECE Chairman, the Dean of McCormick Engineering & Applied Science School and the President in permitting a publication which libeled victims of the Holocaust to appear on the INTERNET with the imprimature and under the auspices of Northwestern University.

Both the Dean and the ECE Chairman ordered me not to make any statements in class about the Holocaust. They gave two reasons; namely,

• If I were allowed to talk about the Holocaust in my class, then Prof. Butz would claim the same right to talk about the Holocaust in his class; and
  
• Based on their experience, they were afraid of that any publicity Prof. Butz's WWW publications might receive would again cause a drop in donations to the University.
  

Because I did not agree with their rationale and could not accept their order because of my respect for the victims of the Holocaust, I published CANDOR - The Language of Engineering.

One immediate result of my publication of CANDOR - The Language of Engineering was that my academic appointment was suddenly terminated. When I stated that I intended to make Prof. Butz's WWW publications known to the Jewish community - which contributes 25% of all donations to Northwestern University, the University published attacks on my reputation and my teaching ability. I have not responded to these attacks on my reputation because I intend to maintain focus on one important issue; namely,

Who is responsible for permitting the use of a tax-exempt Northwestern University WWW server to broadcast Holocacaust-Revisionist propaganda which libels victims of genocide?

Northwestern University management has sought to justify its permission for the use of a University WWW server by Prof. Butz on the ground of Free Speech. Even though I was the person whose appointment was terminated for speaking, I have never made any claim to any Free Speech protection because Northwestern University is not an organ of government and because I believe that every organization has a responsibity to monitor the quality, accuracy and content of any speech published under its imprimature or auspices.

In my opinion, Northwestern University is not advocating Free Speech because that concept implies that the content and calibre of speech will be subjected to the tests of the free market. I believe it would be more proper to call tenured-faculty speech at Northwestern University Protected Speech for which no price need be paid by the author.

While I consider Northwestern University's Free Speech argument an excuse to avoid Quality Control rather than a reason for improving scholarship, my experience in teaching there makes me believe that the time has come for our country to re-evaluate the role and practices of universities. Specifically, this is an excellent time for a public debate practices at Northwestern University and other institutions by examining the following questions of Ethics and Social Responsibility:

1. What is the responsibility of university tenured faculty for self-governence?
   
   
2. What responsibilities regarding Accurate and Responsible Speech are we entitled to expect from people entrusted with the teaching and training of our students?
   
   
3. What duties of full disclosure regarding questionable activities do univerities have to trustees, alumni, students and others from whom they solicit contributions, tuitions and assistance?
   
   
4. What constitutes ethical and socially responsible use by universities of new technology such as the INTERNET?
   
   
5. Should the standard for tenured faculty speech be Free Speech or should it be Accurate and Responsible Speech?
   
   
6. Is tenure either necessary or socially wise given the INTERNET and other new technologies which are reshaping our society?
   
   
7. Given the tremendous investment made in higher education, should univerities be held to the same standards of full disclosure as that required of corporations selling stock to the public? For example, should universities be required to publish accreditation reports, which they now keep secret, on a government WWW server just as the Securities and Exchange Commission does for publically traded securities?

The Candor Exercises have expanded well beyond my original intent and have become a focal point for debate. You may wish to read the following WWW pages and pass their URLs on to your family and friends:

1. CANDOR - The Language of Engineering - My Class Assignment
2. C96 - Last Call & Candor - Notice To Students That My Academic Appointment Had BeenTerminated
3. The Chicago Jewish News
4. The Daily Northwestern
5. The Chicago Tribune - And My Analysis
6. Northwestern University's Messages & My Response
7. My Letter To Rabbi Daniel Sherbill - My Pastor
8. Cable News Network
9. The New York Times
10. Enter the Washington Post Home Page and register. Then enter their search page and ask for an article written by Edward Walsh on 12 JAN 97 containing the word Northwestern.
11. The Associated Press

If you have a comment for President Henry S. Bienen, Dean Jerome B. Cohen and ECE Chairman Abraham Haddad, please use the preceding link - which will also send a copy to me.

Thank you for your kind words of support.

20JAN 97