SAIC Puts Professor on Leave After Palestine Reference
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) placed Savneet Talwar, director of its graduate art therapy program, on leave after she assigned a case study referencing “violence against Palestinian civilians.” On April 17, Talwar received notice that SAIC had opened an investigation into allegations of “discrimination, harassment and/or retaliation” after she asked six students in her “Cultural Dimensions in Art Therapy” course to draft a mock treatment plan for a hypothetical queer Arab immigrant student who sympathized with pro-Palestinian protests and feared retaliation under the Trump administration. SAIC Provost Martin Berger told Talwar on April 20 that she would be placed on leave, stating her “alleged actions threaten immediate harm,” and he also claimed she assigned the case to only one student, which Talwar disputes. Talwar, represented by attorney Rima Kapitan, denied the allegations, while an SAIC spokesperson said the school does not discipline faculty for protected classroom discussion but would not comment on an ongoing investigation.
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This story was covered in Museums Under Fire, Identities in Flux