The Strange Case of Dr. Lowinger

This may be Dr. Robert Lowinger's last semester teaching at SUNY Old Westbury. Following clashes between him and the Psychology Department, he issued a letter of resignation, which Professor Runi

Mukherji, the chair of the department, "regretfully" accepted. She said that she had not requested it.          

    On November 29th, Lowinger held a talk with students and some faculty attendees to give his side of the story. A paper was distributed with an excerpt from Mukherji's e-mail accepting his resignation along with an excerpt from the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) regarding a mandate that employers make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities.

    Lowinger said that he suffers from a chronic spinal condition which precludes him from carrying a laptop and that that the school did not provide or allow him to use a personal laptop or desktop computer on campus.  Mukherji said that this was "Professor Lowinger's perception of events. Mine differ substantially." A source who asked not to be identified said that over a year ago Lowinger was given access to computers.  

    Lowinger also claimed that a faculty member had told him that Mukherji had allegedly heard from a student that Lowinger had said, "SUNY Old Westbury students are stupid and disgusting." Lowinger vehemently denies this claim. Following the news of the resignation, Lowinger received a groundswell of student support.

    Lidor Kohen, the student Psychology senator, said: "We divided up the tasks for creating a petition [to get Lowinger reinstated], distributing emails and spreading awareness. We had all the tasks completed by noon the next day."  

    Students who feel that the denial of Lowinger's reinstatement is financially motivated are said to have gathered hundreds of signatures calling for his reinstatement.  Kamini Khan, a senior Psychology major said, "The graduating students were so motivated to fight for him even though they cannot take him in the future, but because they recognize his contributions both in and out of the classroom."  

    In her e-mail acceptance of his resignation, Mukherji stated that during a meeting with Lowinger he had said that the only circumstances under which he would resume his position with the Department would be if Professor [Lillian] Park or Mukherji would write a letter of apology. Given her understanding of events, Mukherji did not believe that such a letter was warranted. Lowinger was hired as an adjunct in 2002 and promoted to a visiting instructor in 2010.