Death of the Ayn Rand Scholar by Gray Cavender (classic literature list txt) 📕

basically the norm for such pages: a short statement of teaching and research interests, his educational pedigree, and his C/V. She did read that at Cal he’d majored in Legal Studies as an undergrad. So, it made sense that he’d go on to that Jurisprudence and Social Policy PhD program. He’d also earned a Certificate in Criminology from Cambridge University. That was the certificate that she’d told Wes about, and also the way that he and Russell Griffiths had hooked-up.

The C/V listed publications. The one he’d mentioned that stirred-up the controversy with Professor Siemens was entitled, “Follow the Money: A Critical Review of Inside Job.” He had published papers in several law reviews and had another, longer batch of publications in criminology journals…she remembered citing articles from some of these journals in her own term papers.

Professor Naremore’s Wiki page was more interesting. The ‘Early Life’ section recounted that he was a poor kid for whom The University of California’s only relevance was traffic congestion on football Saturdays. Later, he’d go to Cal on a tennis scholarship. The entry said that Professor Naremore had been a nationally ranked college tennis player. It even included a quote from a former coach who said that what made him such a good tennis player was that he was a fierce competitor, and that during volleys, “Ian would not stop until he had won the point.” There also was a comment from Professor Naremore who said that a life-changing event came when he heard the film director, Spike Lee, speak on the Berkeley campus. Lee had talked about the importance of an education. He had warned young black athletes not to be distracted by high school or college sports—most of them would never be good enough to go pro—so Spike said they should study hard and get something out of their education, something that could generate a career. That motivated a young Ian Naremore to do just that.

According to the entry, Robert Tipton, a law professor at Cal, had been an important mentor for Naremore during his graduate studies. Tipton was an internationally regarded criminologist in the area of regulation and crime. Jillian had heard of him, and not only in Professor Naremore’s classes. Tipton had written the “Forward” to Professor Naremore’s Enron book…Jillian knew that “Forwards” were a big deal in academic books.

Next, she did turn to Professor Siemens…ASU material first. Her English Department faculty profile photo was a head shot. In it, she wore a green jacket, a cream-colored blouse, and a necklace of dark, coral stones. The photo was much more of a close-up than the one in the Professor’s condo so Jillian could see more detail: the jacket fabric looked to be silk. The Professor had a creamy complexion, and again, her make-up and hair were perfect. Here, her hair was longer than Jillian remembered from her lying on the floor in her office…more like the condo photo of her receiving an award.

Professor Siemens’ English Department webpage was organized like the others she’d just accessed. Jillian had already seen her degrees reflected in the framed diplomas on her office walls. The two books on Ayn Rand that Professor Gilroy had mentioned were listed, as was an edited volume of articles, journal articles, and chapters in other people’s edited volumes. The Professor had been productive, although not as much so as had Professor Naremore. Jillian couldn’t tell from the titles which book chapter was the one wherein Professor Siemens had attacked Professor Naremore.

Professor Siemens’ Wiki entry was considerably longer. It listed a smattering of the corporate boards she was on, and also noted her affiliation with several think tanks. Jillian knew them to be of a conservative bent because she’d heard them mentioned (and so labeled) on NPR. With some organizations, she was listed as ‘A Fellow,’ and with others as ‘An Affiliate.’ Professor Siemens had been at Mount Holyoke before ASU…one of the Seven Sister Universities that Professor Gilroy had mentioned.

Her Wiki entry did note that she was a controversial figure. Perhaps it didn’t say it exactly in these words, but she’d obviously been in several dust-ups with other professors, and not just with Professor Naremore. There also had been fireworks when she’d spoken at The University of New Hampshire. A conservative campus organization had invited her to speak, but another group had opposed her. She did speak, but there had been a boycott. According to the entry, her comments had been provocative.

These disputes constituted only a portion of her Wiki entry, but still they were enough to have their own section labeled Controversies. The part of the entry about her position at ASU was, for the most part, what Jillian had already gleaned elsewhere.

Jillian looked away for the screen and thought about Professor Siemens, her career, and the controversies that had surrounded her professional life. She also thought about her lying dead in her office, and wondered if any of those controversies had any bearing on her murder. She thought, too, about Professor Naremore’s harsh comments about her.

Her short reverie ended, and it was back to the task at hand. Jillian Googled Ayn Rand, and her immediate response was “Whoa.” There were a ton of entries, including several Wiki entries…so many entries that at the bottom of the page there was a series of numbers indicating more pages...a lot of them. She was thinking that maybe she should do this later, when there was a knock at the door of the interrogation room. She’d been so engrossed in her work that she was startled, and actually jumped a little in the chair.

It was Wes…she motioned him in.

“What are you doing, Jilly?”

“I’m doing some Google homework on all the players. I’ve read entries for Professors Gilroy, Siemens, and Naremore. I was about to get into Ayn Rand, but there were so many…I was blown away.”

“Jilly Warne, Google detective. But why don’t you just use Eduardo’s office?”

“Oh, I just wanted to be able to focus, and this room was just quieter…fewer distractions.”

Wes