Remember James Fox? The former University of Oregon archivist was placed on paid leave after the release of records from UO’s presidential archive. Fox and his fellow archivist Kira Homo released 22,000 pages of records to UO Economics professor Bill Harbaugh earlier this year.
The Oregonian reported that more than 100 UO professors signed a letter in support of Fox dated April 3. The letter protests the firing of James Fox. UO spokesperson Tobin Klinger told the Oregonian on Friday that Fox is employed with the university until June 30 and that the university did not renew his contract.
“There has long been an astounding lack of clarity around the policies and processes governing presidential office archives; a failure of leadership at a high level to create a viable campus-wide records management program; and an all-too-clear paucity of resources allocated to the library for processing, handling, and providing such materials,” the letter said. “These failings are not those of James Fox.”
The letter outlines the work that Fox has done as the director of special collections at the UO. The letter said that Fox’s dismissal will cause a rupture with donors and will damage the trust of UO faculty and staff.
“We urgently request that this case be revisited immediately and that James Fox’s contract be renewed,” the letter said. “We request as well that the records management function beplaced in a more suitable and better-resourced unit on campus. Finally, we request a reply that engages in detail with the substance of our concerns.”
At the time of publication, representatives from the UO were not available for comment.