Retired military psychologist Larry James, whose candidacy for an MU position has been the subject of controversy, spoke and answered questions from the audience at an open forum Tuesday, Feb. 5 in the Reynolds Alumni Center.
James began the forum with a presentation in which he summarized his credentials as the current dean of the School of Professional Psychology at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and outlined his goals if hired as division executive director with the MU College of Education. He is one of two candidates being considered by the search committee, along with Dr. Matthew Burns, an educational psychologist from the University of Minnesota.
Before filling his position at Wright State University, James served as chief psychologist at Guantanamo Bay in 2003 and as the director of the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center at Abu Ghraib in 2004.
From 2007 to 2008, James headed the Guantanamo Behavioral Science Consultation Team, a group of mental health professionals who provided advice to interrogators at the detention centers. The Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic filed a complaint against James, accusing the consultation team of helping to create an atmosphere conducive to inciting prisoner breakdowns.
At the forum, James talked about his work to reduce departmental debt at Wright State University and stressed the importance of creating programs for a diverse range of students within the College of Education.
He proposed the creation of a national center dedicated to reducing gun violence in schools and expressed admiration for the “unique talent and expertise” present in MU’s current education department.
James also said trust is important in professional relationships.
“I do believe transparency is of the utmost importance at all times,” he said.
After James’ presentation, the floor was opened to questions from College of Education faculty, staff and students. Only two members of the College of Education asked questions of James, leaving the rest of the session open to Columbia residents.
Many attendees expressed doubts about James’ background as a military psychologist and questioned the ethics of specific passages from the book, “Fixing Hell: An Army Psychologist Confronts Abu Ghraib,” James published in 2008.
Multiple questions were asked about a passage in the book that describes James witnessing an interrogation that involved subjecting a near-naked man to sexual humiliation. James waited five minutes and took a coffee break before intervening, according to his memoir.
MU graduate student Nabihah Maqbool questioned James about a passage from his book describing the American Red Cross as “a bunch of radical-left do-gooders” who consider military detainees “completely innocent, and only needing to be hugged more.”
Faizan Syed, representative of the St. Louis division of the Center for American-Islamic Relations, partnered with Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic to conduct an investigation of the depth of James’ alleged involvement with enhanced interrogation techniques at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. He expressed his organization’s goal in questioning the legitimacy of James’ appointment.
“We try to make sure that people who may have committed crimes in the past are held accountable and that they’re not rewarded for those crimes,” said Syed.
The decision regarding the position of executive director will be announced at the end of February or early March.
