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Even With Acquittal, Al-Arian Unlikely To Return To USF

By ADAM EMERSON and WILLIAM MARCH The Tampa Tribune

Published: Dec 7, 2005

TAMPA - Sami Al-Arian's acquittal on about half the charges against him proves, for some, it was wrong to fire the professor before a jury could decide his fate.

But no one reached at the University of South Florida on Tuesday expected the former computer science professor to get his job back anytime soon.

Al-Arian's labor attorney, Robert McKee, said he will fight to put his client back in his teaching post if the federal government decides to drop the charges the jury failed to agree on.

USF President Judy Genshaft was in India on Tuesday as part of a medical school project, and a university spokeswoman said Genshaft would make no comment on the verdict.

In a written statement, the spokeswoman said, "USF ended Sami Al-Arian's employment nearly three years ago, and we do not expect anything to change that."

After hearing the verdict, some USF faculty members said they expected demands to bring Al-Arian back to the university and feared that old divisions may resurface.

Some professors are still angry Genshaft suspended Al-Arian without a hearing after his inflammatory remarks about Israel surfaced on a cable talk show and later fired him.

"At the risk of saying I told you so, I think this again demonstrates the importance of not allowing the punishment to come before the trial," said Roy Weatherford, a USF philosophy professor and president of university's chapter of United Faculty Florida, the faculty union.

Others say the jury's decision will have little impact. Until prosecutors decide whether to retry Al-Arian, "I'm not sure anybody's going to leap to anything," said Gregory Paveza, director of the arts and sciences division at USF's Lakeland campus, who was Faculty Senate president at the time of Al-Arian's dismissal.

Genshaft suspended Al-Arian with pay on Sept. 28, 2001, two days after his television appearance on "The O'Reilly Factor." Commentator Bill O'Reilly had challenged Al-Arian about his alleged relations with members of a terrorist group. Genshaft said she suspended Al-Arian because of threats the school received and out of concern for his safety. She fired him Feb. 26, 2003, after he was indicted.

McKee filed a grievance within days, but he and USF agreed to put the matter on hold pending the criminal case.

If prosecutors decide against retrying Al-Arian, he could pursue the grievance or fight for his job in federal court, McKee said.

That may renew tensions that roiled during Betty Castor's Senate campaign last year. Castor was USF president from 1994 to 1999 and was criticized for failing to take action against Al-Arian when allegations linking him to terrorism surfaced in 1995. Castor did not respond to calls for comment Tuesday.

Some faculty members and USF officials declined to comment Tuesday, citing involvement with the case or positions they hold. Others say the case has failed to generate the bitterness it once did.

Most students recognize Al-Arian's name but rarely discuss the case. The Muslim Student Association, which sponsored several protests after Al-Arian's indictment, has focused on offering educational support to Muslim students, association President Hassan Sultan said.

Political science Professor Harry Vanden said Al-Arian's firing has led to one bad consequence: Professors new to USF have been careful not to anger the administration. "It does and has made some watch what they say and do," Vanden said.