Officially, his course is canceled, but that won't stop G.E. Erikson, professor emeritus of medical sciences, from teaching it anyway.
Since he retired in 1990, Erikson had been teaching a University course every semester pro bono, he said. But late in December, he received a letter from Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron telling him that his two classes, one that would have been taught this semester and another in the fall, had been canceled because they were not affiliated with any department, which violated University rules.
After receiving the letter, Erikson decided he still wanted to teach. So he will, by holding "Ventures in the History of Biology, Medicine, and Public Health," formerly UC 102, as an informal course twice a week over this semester. It will be free of charge, he said, to Brown students, community members and whoever else wants to attend.
"It's something that I very much enjoy learning about and helping other people learn about," he said.
Still, Erikson said he was upset with the way University officials canceled his classes. The former professor said he told administrators about the affiliation problem in 2005 and offered to work with them to find a solution. But he said Bergeron and the University decided to cancel his classes without consulting him first, a move the veteran professor, who had taught at Brown since 1965, called "unfair" and "unjust."
"It's inconceivable that they treated me this badly," Erikson said. "It's certainly not collegial, not hearing my side of the story ... and wiping my course out."
Bergeron said in an e-mail to The Herald that Erikson's classes were canceled because they lacked "proper departmental support." But she added that he was "offered the opportunity to resubmit his courses to the (College Curriculum Council)."
Erikson, 86, said it was possible that administrators might have wanted to force him into retirement because of his age and recent heart attack.
Blanche Greene-Cramer '07, one of Erikson's former students, also speculated that Erikson's health may have been a factor. She took UC 102 in the spring of 2005 and his fall course, UC 101: "Art and Anatomy," last semester, but she dropped the latter partially because of Erikson's health problems.
"Because of Erikson's deteriorating health, he had to cancel classes several times and was not able to hold office hours regularly," she said.
Greene-Cramer believes that his health, combined with Erikson's controversial teaching style - she said several of his students did not like how unstructured the course was - may be the real reasons the classes were canceled.
The reason the University gave for canceling the courses "is pretty superficial," she said. "I was actually stunned for the reason given."
Bergeron said it was "wonderful" that Erikson will teach the class informally.
Greene-Cramer echoed her sentiment.
"I think it's great that he's keeping going with it," she said. "It was more of an informal process even when it was University-affiliated."
