Recent Academic Freedom Incidents

This is a list of significant challenges to academic freedom and free speech that have occurred recently at the University of Chicago. The salient feature of these incidents is the role that university officials played in discouraging free and open discourse.

A tenured professor in BSD opposed a departmental statement on a political issue. Some students filed an EEO complaint claiming that the professor's opposition and the fact that he had a Gadsden flag in his office constituted harassment. Instead of immediately dismissing what was obviously an attempt to use the EEO to silence someone with different political views, the EEO demanded, in an intimidating manner, that the professor meet with them as part of an inquiry into the matter. The professor retained an attorney and refused to meet, citing the EEO's own regulations and the Chicago Principles. Although the EEO backed off in this particular instance, the chilling effects on speech are clear. We are only aware of this incident because the professor refused to be silenced.

A tenured professor in PSD expressed skepticism about "diversity" hiring and admissions. Students in the professor's department organized a petition calling for the restriction of his teaching and research activities that was signed by many students and postdocs in the professor's department and elsewhere in PSD. Although the petition's demands violated the professor's academic freedom, the department chair asked if the professor would step down from a committee in response to the petition. The chair of a related department sent an email to the entire department stating that "the views expressed [by the professor] are antithetical to the goals I strongly believe we share," even though the Kalven Report forbids departments from taking collective positions. The controversy was only put to rest when President Zimmer reaffirmed that the Chicago Principles and Kalven Report clearly protect the professor's right to express these views. Two different department chairs failed to recognize this.

A tenured professor in SSD posted messages on a personal Twitter account advocating a particular position on a matter of social and political interest. In response, a number of colleagues at other universities called for the professor to resign his position of editor of a journal published by the University of Chicago. In the wake of this, a former graduate student accused the professor via Twitter of classroom misconduct years before. As a result of this accusation, the professor was suspended as editor of the journal. An official university investigation exonerated the professor. Throughout these events, the chair of the relevant SSD department wrote multiple emails to the professor, CCing other department members, pressuring the professor to resign as editor.