MEMORANDUM
Date: 02/18/16
To:

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block
Executive Vice-Chancellor and Provost Scott Waugh
Vice-Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Jerry Kang

Cc.

Vice-Chancellor Carole Goldberg

From:

UCLA History Department Faculty

We, the undersigned faculty of the Department of History, write to express
our concern and distress regarding the terms of the UCLA settlement with
Professor Gabriel Piterberg, which Vice Chancellor Carole Goldberg recently
revealed to us in a departmental faculty meeting of January 13, 2016.
As you are aware, Piterberg’s actions, and the case against the UC Regents,
became public knowledge in June 2015 from the Los Angeles Times, though
some of our students, faculty, and staff were partially aware of this
information. Piterberg’s actions as well as the secrecy surrounding the
investigation had already caused the erosion of trust within our community.
The offences to which Piterberg has admitted are grave in nature. His actions
were not only deeply injurious to the specific parties involved, but have
poisoned our academic community. Students, staff, and faculty must now
contend with the presence of an admitted harasser in our midst. From what
we know, Piterberg has expressed neither remorse about his actions nor
awareness of the damage it has caused to the Department of History.
As per the university settlement with Piterberg, he is expected to return to
our campus having suffered only a one-quarter salary cut, and a small
additional fine. Moreover, on his return, he will benefit from reduced service
and overall workload, as he cannot be asked to engage in a number of tasks.
His return, which is apparently scheduled for 07/01/16, brings with it the
prospect of a dysfunctional working environment.
We are deeply concerned that:
o Students, staff and faculty will continue to feel unsafe and
uncomfortable in the Department of History in Piterberg’s
presence;

 o Our Department, including staff, students, and faculty, has not
been provided with the means or encouragement to repair the
damage done to our working environment, intellectual culture,
and reputation, national and international;
o Other faculty will carry the burden of service, teaching, and
mentoring from which Piterberg will be recused;
o Piterberg’s public presence on campus will signal that an
effective climate of tolerance for harassment persists at UCLA.
We appeal to the administration to act on these concerns, to guarantee the
protection of our students, staff, and faculty, and to safeguard the integrity
of the Department of History and the campus community more generally.
Sincerely,
Amir Alexander
Sebouh Aslanian
Ra‘anan Boustan
Scot Brown
Soraya de Chadarevian
Mary Corey
Ellen Dubois
Caroline Ford
Stephen Frank
James Gelvin
Arch Getty
Jessica Goldberg
Juan Gómez-Quiñones
Nile Green
Kelly Lytle Hernandez
Toby Higbie
Katsuya Hirano
Robin Kelley
John Langdon
Ghislaine Lydon
William Marotti
Muriel McClendon
Michael Meranze
Michael Morony
Carla Gardina Pestana
David Phillips
Theodore Porter
Teofilo Ruiz
Sarah Abrevaya Stein
Brenda Stevenson

 Sanjay Subrahmanyam
William Summerhill
Kevin Terraciano
Albion Urdank
Norton Wise
Bin Wong
William Worger
Craig Yirush