Reinstated: Aberdeen backtracks and brings David Anderson back

Some good news from Aberdeen. Professor David Anderson has been reinstated.

From David: I wanted to thank you again. ... I am happy to say that the university backed down and reinstated me last week. I am still subject to sanctions and punishments - what I will be likely following up in Court - but I have my students back. I will try to write to my email list (and my old address was restored: david.anderson@abdn.ac.uk). [Oct. 30, 2026].

Reinstate David Anderson - union organizer and anthropologist

 

Dear Colleagues, 

I am forwarding this message from David Anderson, recently fired from Aberdeen University for defending fellow workers’ rights in a bitter dispute that involves disbanding many units of the university and terminating up to 100 positions. I urge you to sign the petition as I have done.

 

“As many of you already know I was forced to change my email address because my university dismissed me on 31 August as a punishment for my union work.  The university wishes to eliminate the Anthropology department along with other mainly humanity disciplines.  I would be grateful if you could sign this petition - and circulated it.  It is important not only for me but so that others union representatives across the UK do not suffer the same treatment.  If Aberdeen gets away with this the ploy will be repeated at other universities.”

The petition:

https://speakout.web.ucu.org.uk/stand-up-for-trade-unions-reinstate-professor-david-anderson/

 

Some background can be found in this BBC story. David is not named but is the “senior union official” mentioned. 

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8e3rgry9k4po

 

David is a longstanding, internationally recognized anthropologist of the north. Prior to working at Aberdeen, he was on faculty at the University of Alberta in the mid-1990s. You can read a bit about him here: https://www.uarctic.org/news/2022/3/introducing-the-uarctic-chair-david-g-anderson/

 

A kind message from a friend, NOT!

I received the following message (posted below) from a colleague who is not a friend. I had sent the colleague a message asking if they might offer a comment for a story I was writing for my local area newsletter. Yes, I did default to the North American Familiar and addressed this colleague by their 'christian' name. 

I did at least say 'Dear,' not Hey. 

I am used to getting cranky emails back from time to time. The only way to accommodate such emails, aside from trashing them, is to appreciate them. So let me try.

My original email went out almost two weeks ago.  It was one of a small set I sent to academics who had expertise and knowledge regarding civil protest and institutional surveillance. This colleague did not respond until today, after the story I had contacted them about previously, was published.

I note the academic slight of addressing me as Mr, not Dr or Professor.  I guess that is to counter balance my faux pas of addressing them by their first name.  

Then there's the selective quote: "in support of Hamas."  The full quote: "In support of Hamas and the Palestinian cause.  Thereafter I use the term pro-Palestinian. Splitting hairs?  Some of the people I saw supporting Palestine did say they supported Hamas, some said they did not. In the early days there were clearly people supporting the Palestinian cause who made it clear they had no issue with Hamas. 

But what I most appreciate is the effort they went to to track down my story, read it (but not carefully),  then pen and send me this dunning note.  After all that they break it off as they have more important issues to attend to.  Well, I sure hope they do.

Not to worry 'Dear Not Your Friend,'  I won't be making any effort to contact you again.