CUNY to Reconsider Kushner Honorary Degree Decision?

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, earlier this week board members of CUNY voted to withdrawal an honorary degree that was to be presented to famed playwright Tony Kushner at John Jay College in light of offensive remarks they feel he made against Israel. Kushner has aggressively defended his remarks, stating that he feels "dismayed by the vicious attack and wholesale distortion of my beliefs" on the part of CUNY and is asking for an apology from the university, adding that even if they were to reverse their decision, he would not accept the degree.

Now, the NY Times is reporting that CUNY will hold an executive meeting on Monday, May 9 to reconsider their decision. Chairman Benno C. Schmidt Jr. said in a statement: "Freedom of thought and expression is the bedrock of any university worthy of the name," Mr. Schmidt wrote, referring to the opposition that had been expressed by one trustee, Jeffrey S. Wiesenfeld, toward Mr. Kushner's political views. But it is not right for the board to consider politics in connection with the award of honorary degrees except in extreme cases not presented by the facts here," he wrote. "The proposed honorary degree for Mr. Kushner would recognize him for his extraordinary talent and contribution to the American theater. Like other honorary degrees, it is not intended to reflect approval or disapproval for political views not relevant to the field for which the recipient is being honored."

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Kushner would have received the honorary degree for his career achievement. His plays include The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures, opening tonight in New York City, A Bright Room Called Day; Angels In America, Parts One and Two; Slavs!; Homebody/Kabul and Caroline, or Change. His adaptations include Corneille's The Illusion, S.Y. Ansky's The Dybbuk, and Brecht's The Good Person of Sezuan and Mother Courage and Her Children (Public Theater). He wrote the screenplay for the HBO film version of Angels In America, directed by Mike Nichols and for Munich, directed by Steven Spielberg. His books include Brundibar, illustrations by Maurice Sendak; The Art of Maurice Sendak, 1980 to the Present; and Wrestling With Zion: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict (co-edited with Alisa Solomon). Kushner has received the Pulitzer Prize, an Emmy Award, an Oscar nomination, two Tony Awards, three Obie Awards, an Olivier Award, two Evening Standard Awards, and is the first recipient of the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

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