Irony alert: SJSU prof--considered star teacher and scholar by university--bizarrely persecuted for defending himself at protest
Jonathan Roth, SJSU Distinguished Service Award 2019. Photo source: SJSU
According to the Inside Higher Ed website, Prof. Jonathan Roth of San Jose State has been put on administrative leave for--we are not kidding--defending himself when a pro-Hamas demonstrator tried to forcibly stop him from taking photos at what community leaders consider an antisemitic melee on 2.19. It's a curious turn of events for the scholar: He recently received the university's Distinguished Service Award and was lauded (at least then) for his commitment to "being a contrarian." Below, from SJSU website.
When Jonathan Roth sees something he doesn’t agree with, he tries to change it. An SJSU professor of history for 25 years and the 2019 Distinguished Service Award recipient, Roth delights in being a contrarian.
“Service to the university involves at times challenging policies,” says Roth. “A commitment to and fighting for the ideals of academia, as I see them, is the highest kind of service.”
A scholar of ancient and military history and the son of a World War II veteran, Roth’s personal experiences and ideals have driven his teaching, scholarship and service. Roth’s efforts as the founder of the Burdick Military History Project, and as an advocate, advisor and student mentor for student veterans has helped SJSU go from being a school with limited support for veterans to being listed by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top 20 colleges for veterans. As chair of the history department, he revived the Jewish Studies program, and has served as the faculty advisor for the Jewish Student Union and led the Jewish Faculty and Staff Association, which he co-founded in 2013.
Supporting veterans and the Jewish community are just two examples of Roth’s dedicated service. He is also strongly committed to shared governance, serving as chair of the Campus Planning Board, the Academic Senate’s Curriculum and Research Committee, Veterans Advisory Committee, and working on many others, including the University Retention, Tenure and Promotion Committee. As he works on these committees and other efforts, Roth says he is thinking of students, believing strongly in the need to support them and expose them to a wide variety of perspectives.
“The university should serve as a hub of academic exploration, free thought and criticism. I feel strongly that the most important diversity is diversity of ideas,” says Roth. Critical thinking means questioning your own views and separating yourself from your ideas, he explains. “The basis of all scholarship and the academic mission is the separation of ideas from person so that you can challenge an idea while respecting the person who holds that idea.”
His advice to junior faculty members: Don’t be afraid to take on an issue if it benefits our students. “Being a professor means that you must always have the interests of students at heart.”
Read the whole thing on SJSU’s website, here.
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