Dear colleagues,

I am writing regarding Dr. Anna Stubblefield. Anna is a philosopher and author of  (among other things) the 2005 Cornell U Press book, Ethics Along the Color Line. (Here is the Hypatia review by Charles Mills: https://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/hypatia/v022/22.2mills.html

Anna has presented at a number of FEAST conferences. Her work is original and she has inspired many students including one who went on to write her dissertation with me.

In 2011, as you may have read in various media, Anna was charged with sexually assaulting a disabled person and removed from her position as chair of the philosophy department at Rutgers University--Newark. I attach a letter from one of her Newark colleagues which gives a fuller account of the story. The author of the attached letter is Lisa Hull, an award-winning full professor of political science on the Newark campus, who specializes in constitutional rights and gender studies: http://www.ncas.rutgers.edu/elizabeth-hull  Professor Hull (whom I have never met) explains the Stubblefield situation as she sees it and suggests some ways of supporting Anna, including contacting her, attending part of her upcoming trial, and contributing to her legal defence fund. Professor Hill also includes links explaining some of the issues raised by this case.

Some have compared this case with alleged sexual predation in the Boulder Philosophy Department. Insofar as I understand the respective situations, there are many disanalogies, including the fact that Anna's alleged victim was not a student. Rutgers also acted differently from the University of Colorado because it has placed Anna on indefinite unpaid leave. While the cases of my Boulder colleagues were being investigated, they were suspended but received full pay. 

 

Many commentaries on this case have focused on issues of sexual consent, which certainly are salient. In addition, however, the case also raises issues of disability and due process rights. Seemingly the alleged victim has not been given an opportunity to tell his side of the story and Anna (who is the mother of two children) was virtually disappeared and has been unable to work for several years.

I do not know Anna well, having met her only at conferences, but I have a strong positive sense of her personal integrity and I plan to contribute to her legal defence fund. I urge you to learn as much as you can about the case and to support Anna if you see fit.

Thanks for considering this.

Alison.