Andrew Card

The University of Massachusetts is currently scheduled to confer an honorary degree to Andrew Card, Jr at the graduate student commencement ceremony in a couple of weeks. This is the Andrew Card who served as white house chief of staff for 6 years, who led the White House Iraq Group, who directed the reclassification of government documents, and who stacked government advisory scientific committees with incompetent, but pro-Bush, appointees. The students of the University are leading efforts to have the offer of the degree withdrawn. Unfortunately, it appears that the University's trustees are unlikely to reconsider the offer.

The process by which degree candidates are selected is shrouded in mystery. Reportedly, it was a faculty member who originally suggested Andrew Card as a candidate. The list can be amended by the Amherst Chancellor, the UMass President, and the Board of Trustees, but there is no review offered to the students or faculty at large. Some people might well decline to be considered if there would be a public review or vote up or down on their candidacy. At the same time, its clear that the process as it exists is hideously flawed to have produced such a controversial candidate.

Today, I presented a motion at the Faculty Senate condemning the honorary degree for Andrew Card. The motion was originally drafted by Tobias Baskin, who couldn't attend today to present his own motion. Unfortunately, there was not a sufficient number of faculty senators available today to consider the motion. Hopefully, it will be considered again at the next faculty senate meeting.

Andrew Card looks like a nice guy -- As John Stewart said, "You're the nicest man I ever didn't want to like". But I can't overlook the damage this white house has done to the role of science -- or any genuine inquiry -- in government policy. We're going to pay for the stubborn refusal of the white house to confront a whole range of scientific issues, from global warming to stem cells, for at least a generation. Andy Card helped make that happen. He does not represent the high ethical standards that I believe my University should represent.