In the end, however, Columbia students and faculty launched a campaign in defense of Massad that defeated the Islamophobes. Massad not only earned tenure but won the prestigious Lionel Trilling Award for excellence in scholarship.

SEED: Potential essay angle: the mechanics of successful academic defense campaigns and what makes them work against organized smear efforts.

Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politi…, loc. 528