Thomas Parkinson - Academic Career and Activism

Academic Career and Activism

While he was developing an academic career at Berkeley in the 1950s, Parkinson became immersed in the continuing political battles of his times. A tireless supporter of students both inside and outside the classroom, Parkinson made a number of public statements about paltry funding for student scholarships, including those for women students. An article he published in the campus newspaper, the Daily Californian, sparked the murder attempt by a former student who claimed to have been commanded by God. Parkinson was severely injured in the attack—several of his vertebrae were fused and his face permanently damaged, and the teaching assistant who was with him at the time was killed. Parkinson continued to promote liberal causes, however, and served as campus Ombudsman, chaired the Berkeley chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), and testified at the obscenity trial on behalf of Allen Ginsberg's Howl. He was instrumental in helping promote humanities study, teacher training, and extension courses for non-matriculated students during a period when the university was pressured to specialize its programs and become increasingly elite.