EGYPT
A speech by the United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo at the American University in Cairo has triggered a revolt of academics against University President, Francis J. Ricciardone.
In a no-hold-barred speech Mr Pompeo sided with the authoritarian regimes that dominate the Middle East and played down the Arab Spring protests that upended the region in 2011.
Mr Ricciardone (pictured) now faces an open challenge from academics at the university, one of the most prestigious in the Middle East, who are angered in part by his decision to give Mr Pompeo an unchallenged platform.
The University Senate voted overwhelmingly to declare no confidence in Mr Ricciardone, a former United States Ambassador to Egypt, Turkey and the Philippines and Palau.
In a resolution, the academics said that they had lost faith in Mr Ricciardone’s stewardship of the university and urged its New York-based board of trustees to immediately begin the search for a successor.
The academics said their grievances against Mr Ricciardone, who has been the university’s leader since 2016, long predated Mr Pompeo’s speech.
In an earlier letter to Mr Ricciardone, faculty members complained about low morale, his management style, grievances over contracts and accusations of illegal discrimination.
The tensions exploded into the open after Mr Pompeo’s speech in which he criticised President Barack Obama’s Middle East policies, emphasised his own Christian beliefs and offered warm support to harsh autocrats like President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt who are loyal to Washington.
Academics were outraged at being given no say in running the event.
The American Embassy was in charge of the guest list, which meant that only selected faculty members could attend, and Mr Pompeo took no questions after finishing his remarks.
Cairo, 7 February, 2019
