Author and teacher Bill Ayers poses along a path in a California coastal park
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The most recent controversy surrounding Ayers began during last April's Democratic presidential debate, when ABC's George Stephanopoulos asked Obama to explain his relationship with Ayers. "He's not somebody I exchanged ideas with on a regular basis," Obama said. "The notion that somehow, as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8 years old, somehow reflects on me and my values, doesn't make much sense." Seconds later, Senator Hillary Clinton presciently warned, "This is an issue that certainly the Republicans will be raising." Indeed, McCain raised it again at the last debate, to which Obama essentially repeated his April response.
Immediately, the University of Illinois received calls questioning Ayers' presence. Before the last term ended, colleagues say, someone appeared at Ayers' university office to shout at him. There were e-mailed death threats. Security has been tightened at some of Ayers' speaking engagements. "It's been a tough time for him, but he's accustomed to tough times," says William Schubert, one of Ayers' colleagues at the University of Illinois, who co-authored a book, Teacher Lore: Learning from Our Own Experience, with Ayers.
By most accounts, amid the controversy Ayers has kept a low profile. School officials say he is on a previously scheduled yearlong sabbatical and occasionally visits his campus office. He regularly posts musings about politics, education and the economy on his personal website. (The site's commentary section has an ongoing debate between fervent supporters and vitriolic detractors as part of a recent blog post by Ayers.) A new edition of his 2001 memoir, Fugitive Days, is expected to be published next year, and a film version is reportedly in development. Says Schubert: "He's resilient — he'll come back and continue to do good work."
Meanwhile, many of the institutions with which Ayers has been affiliated continue to receive inquiries from reporters and political activists. The scrutiny has been so severe that Deborah Harrington, president of the Woods Fund, has hired a public relations firm. She can't wait until Nov. 4. "We hope that at that point, we can return to normal," she says. Amid the controversy, the fund's board has discussed whether Ayers has become too much of a distraction. But, Harrington says, "We knew who he was, and about his past, when he came on the board. People can change, and he has, and he's been a person we value tremendously."