Ronald F. Thiemann

Ronald F. Thiemann is a professor of theology at Harvard Divinity School whose research focuses on the role of religion in public life. He was dean of the school from 1986 to 1998. In a much discussed case that raised privacy issues, he resigned as dean when pornographic images were found on his computer.

Biography and publications

Thiemann, an ordained Lutheran minister, holds a Ph.D. from Yale University. He worked as as professor in the Religion Department of Haverford College before joining Harvard in 1986. He has written three books: "Revelation and Theology" (1985), "Constructing a Public Theology" (1991), and "Religion in Public Life" (1996) [http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/1998/11.19/divinity.html Divinity Dean Stepping Down] , "Harvard University Gazette, 19 November 1998] and edited "Who Will Provide" (2000)

Pornography case

Dean Thiemann lived in a Harvard-owned residence, using a Harvard-owned computer. In the fall of 1998 he requested that a bigger hard drive be installed in the computer. A technician then uploaded the old files to the university's mainframe computer in order to install a new drive. When asked by his supervisor why this process took so long, he first did not want to reply, but later mentioned the large number of image files with file names that suggested sexually explicit content. The supervisor informed University President Neil L. Rudenstein who then suggested that the dean resign but be allowed to stay as a tenured member on the Harvard faculty. Thiemann resigned in November 1998, but the public resignation notice did not state the real reason. The story was broken by the "Boston Globe" beginning in May 1999. [Harvard ouster linked to porn; Divinity School dean questioned. "Boston Globe", 19 May 1999]

After a review, the University President stated that the staff had acted properly in the incident. [Harvard defends role in dean's resignation amid porn claims; Review found nothing invasive in staff's actions, president says. "Boston Globe", 3 July 1999.]

Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz wrote in a letter to the editor of the "Boston Globe", "Surely Dean Thiemann would not have been asked to resign if he had been found using his Harvard-owned computer to keep track of his private stamp collection. Nor would he have been asked to leave if a cleaning person had found a copy of a pornographic magazine in the desk drawer of his Harvard-owned residence. What, then, is the principle, and where are the lines to be drawn?"

References

External links

* [http://www.hds.harvard.edu/faculty/thiemann.html Ronald F. Thiemann] , at Harvard University