U. of Ill. denies William Ayers emeritus status
Ex weather underground terrorist Bill Ayers denied emeritus status after a plea from Christopher Kennedy, noting that Bill Ayers dedicated one of his books the the political terrorist assassin who murdered his father.
The University of Illinois on Thursday denied 1960s radical William Ayers emeritus faculty status after trustees Chairman Christopher Kennedy noted Ayers dedicated a book to, among others, the man who killed Kennedy’s father, Robert F. Kennedy.
All nine voting trustees either opposed granting Ayers, a recently retired University of Illinois-Chicago professor, the largely honorary status or abstained from the vote. Universities often grant emeritus status to distinguished retired faculty members. At Illinois it doesn’t come with any monetary benefits, spokesman Tom Hardy said.
Ayers co-founded the Weather Underground, an anti-war group held responsible for a series of bombings during the Vietnam War era, including nonfatal explosions at the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol.