Dear President Harter,
I am an attorney in Houston, Texas, a former adjunct law professor, and a widely published author on legal, economic, and related subjects. I am aware of the discliplinary action threatened against UNLV’s economics dept. Professor Hans-Hermann Hoppe.
Dr. Hoppe is probably UNLV’s most prolific and pathbreaking professor; he is internationally renowned and in demand for speaking engagements continually world-wide on political and economic topics. In my personal opinion, he is one of the most important thinkers of our time, having signficantly advanced political and economic theory through his books, including A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism, and other writings.
I know of countless students, scholars, and others who have been profoundly influenced by Dr. Hoppe and regard him with the utmost appreciation and respect, as I do.The treatment to which Dr. Hoppe has been subjected by UNLV is astonishing for a university that presumably prides itself on qualities such as fairness, intellectual honesty, and freedom of inquiry.
To threaten Dr. Hoppe with punishment and breach of your contractual obligations to him for for his doing his job—and to baselessly impugn his reputation with kneejerk, politically-correct smears—is simply outrageous. This matter should have been concluded in Dr. Hoppe’s favor within an hour or week, instead of having been dragged on in Kafka-esque fashion in this manner, presumably because no one is willing to speak up with common sense and common decency.
Not only were Dr. Hoppe’s comments within the contractual scope of his academic freedom, his statements were factually true. You may be unable to prevent your tax-subsidized students from having thin skin and wasting everyone’s time with ridiculous whining, but that is no excuse to treat this man the way he has been treated.
It is my view that not only should Dr. Hoppe be issued an apology and termination of this ridiculous proceeding immediately, but that reasonable compensation should be offered to him given the unjust treatment UNLV has subjected him to.
I do not know what your personal role is in this matter, but if I were at an institution of higher education, purportedly dedicated to open inquiry and intellectual exploration, I would be ashamed at the way Dr. Hoppe has been, and continues to be, treated. I implore you to do what you must know to be the right thing in this case—to formally, openly, and immediately vindicate Dr. Hoppe and give him the respect and honor he deserves.
Sincerely, N. Stephan Kinsella General Counsel & VP-Intellectual Property Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. 13111 Jess Pirtle Blvd. Sugar Land, Texas 77478 www.ao-inc.com Stephan@KinsellaLaw.com www.KinsellaLaw.com
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Email header: From: Stephan Kinsella Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2005 9:00 PM To: ‘Carol C Harter’ Cc: ‘1702-895-1088@j2send.com’; ‘bhanseen@ccmail.nevada.edu’; ‘schyler@ccmail.nevada.edu’; ‘kathleen.robins@ccmail.nevada.edu’ Subject: MISTREATMENT OF RENOWNED PROFESSOR HOPPE ATTN: PRESIDENT CAROL C. HARTER Confirmation via fax 702-895-1088
