Universities Use DEI Statements To Enforce Groupthink
DEI statements are political litmus tests.
Academic Freedom
Campus Speech Restrictions Come Back To Bite Universities
Plus: A listener asks if there is any place libertarians can go to start their own country or city state.
Salman Rushdie: 'Literature Is Powerful, Writers Are Fragile'
"If we can't trust ourselves as a culture to accommodate ideas we don't like," the novelist said at the Library of Congress, "then our ideas lose their value as well, because they become authoritarian."
More on Controversial Books at Princeton
A member of Congress weighs in, and the university president speaks out
The Freedom to Assign Controversial Books
An Israeli minister demands that Princeton University prohibit a professor from assigning a controversial book
How Does Intramural Speech Fit Within the First Amendment?
A response to Porter v. North Carolina State University
Expert Witness Redux in California
State tries to bar Stanford researchers from testifying against it
Academic Freedom Alliance Letter to Texas A&M
Professor suspended for criticizing policies of Texas lieutenant governor
A Professor Criticized a Public Official. Then Her University Suspended Her.
Texas A&M placed a professor on paid leave for criticizing Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in a lecture on the opioid crisis.
74 Percent of College Students Support Snitching on Professors Who Make 'Offensive' Statements
Blame university administrators.
Texas A&M's Treatment of Journalism Director Raises Academic Freedom Concerns
Political appointees should have no role in faculty hiring decisions.
A Loss for Academic Freedom in the Fourth Circuit
Is "intramural" professorial speech protected by the First Amendment?
Firing a Professor for 'Left-Wing' Views Is Unconstitutional
But Chris Rufo bragged about breaking the law anyway.
Academic Freedom Alliance Statement on Mayo Clinic
Doctor sanctioned for comments to journalists about transgender athletes
College Debate Team Comes Out Against Debate
James Madison University's debate team says that "free speech should not extend to requiring us to platform or amplify ideas that are exclusionary, discriminatory, or hostile."
Cornell's President Defends Free Speech Against Illiberal Impulses
Martha Pollack rejects the pernicious premise that universities should protect students from offensive ideas.
State "Higher Ed Reform" Roundup: Tennessee
How bad is that divisive concepts bill?
State "Higher Ed Reform" Roundup: Texas
Legislative showdown looming on tenure and academic freedom
State "Higher Ed Reform" Roundup: North Dakota
North Dakota attack on tenure barely defeated
Christopher Rufo Wants To Shut Down 'Activist' Academic Departments. Here's Why He's Wrong.
"Professors are not mouthpieces for the government," says FIRE's Joe Cohn. "For decades, the Supreme Court of the United States has defended professors' academic freedom from governmental intrusion."
A Florida Bill To Censor Professors Just Got Even Worse
The bill now bans a battery of poorly-defined "Critical Theory" concepts, and prevents schools from funding programs that promote "diversity, equity, and inclusion."
What is at Stake in Florida Higher Ed Reform Bill?
A poorly drafted and conceptually ambitious upending of norms of state university independence
Higher Education "Reform" in Florida
Some of the proposals pose real threats to free inquiry
Ron DeSantis Wants To Cultivate 'Viewpoint Diversity' by Censoring Universities
Florida's H.B. 999 claims to support "viewpoint diversity" and "intellectual rigor." It does just the opposite.
After Muslim Students Complained That an Art Exhibit Was 'Harmful,' Macalester College Shut It Down
"My artwork is unapologetic," said the artist. "Sometimes it can be very political. Sometimes it can be very controversial."
DEI Inc. v. Academic Freedom
Amna Khalid and Jeffrey Aaron Snyder argue that we should not kid ourselves about the threat university DEI bureaucracies pose to academic freedom, but is there a better way?
She Lost Her Job For Showing a Painting of Muhammad in Class. Now, She's Suing.
"Hamline subjected López Prater to the foregoing adverse actions because . . . she did not conform her conduct to the specific beliefs of a Muslim sect," the lawsuit states.
Correspondence About UC Irvine Professor's Alleged Plagiarism Is Public Record, Subject to Disclosure
Retraction Watch prevails in a California appellate case.
A College Fired a Professor for Showing a Painting of Muhammad. Now, It Could Lose Its Accreditation.
"If Hamline won't listen to free speech advocates or faculty across the country, they'll have to listen to their accreditor," said FIRE attorney Alex Morey, who filed the complaint.
NYU Chemistry Professor Fired After Students Said His Class Was Too Hard
"Students were misreading exam questions at an astonishing rate," says Maitland Jones Jr.
Mandated Diversity Statement Drives Jonathan Haidt To Quit Academic Society
Prominent social psychologist and NYU professor calls the requirement “explicitly ideological.”
The University of Idaho Tries To Force Faculty To Remain 'Neutral' on Abortion
The policy, released this week, places unconstitutional prohibitions on faculty speech.
Want An Academic Job? Start Preparing Your DEI Statement.
More universities than ever are now requiring lengthy DEI statements from job applicants. Is that good for academic freedom?
Almost 40 Percent of College Students Feel Uncomfortable Sharing a Controversial Opinion in Class
A new survey from FIRE shows one-third of college students report it is “sometimes” or “always” acceptable to shout down a controversial campus speaker.
Michael Shermer: 'Women Are Not Just Tits and Ass. There's More to It Than That, a Lot More.'
The best-selling author of Why People Believe Weird Things sees a fundamental clash between wokeness and scientific inquiry.
Michael Shermer: How Scientific American Got Woke
The science writer and journalist talks identity politics, wokeness, trans athletes, and why his goal is to find out what is true rather than to "be right."
The Academic Freedom Podcast #15 on Recent Controversies
A conversation with Eugene Volokh about the Shapiro controversy and political statements by university leaders
Does Pulling Funding from CUNY Law School Because of School's Anti-Israel Resolution Violate First Amendment?
$50K in funding was withdrawn by a Brooklyn councilwoman, and transferred to a different organization.
Academic Freedom and the Mission of the University
My new article on academic freedom now online at the Houston Law Review