Commentary: Jon Haidt goes after DEI [Includes Update and Correction]

February 10, 2024 1 min read

Jerry Coyne
Why Evolution is True

Excerpt: Now social psychologist Jon Haidt, who cofounded Heterodox Academy, has come out against DEI as well. Previously he kept pretty quiet on the issue, though he often spoke out favoring the pursuit of truth over the pursuit of social justice as the mission of a university. But now he’s at bat against DEI in the UnHerd article below (click to read). Note the strong title: abolishing DEI will “save academia.”

UPDATE: Jon Haidt has commented below (comment #19) and notes that the UnHerd characterization of his talk is incorrect; in particular he doesn’t oppose students chanting “Intifada” and “From the River to the Sea,”  but (like me) deplores the hypocrisy of punishing some speech and not other speech.

Click here for link to full article

Leave a comment


Also in National Free Speech News & Commentary

Commentary: Leading a university is set to become even more difficult

January 11, 2025 1 min read

John Aubrey Douglass
University World News

Excerpt: Over the past five years or so, there has been a significant increase in faculty votes of no confidence in their university and college presidents in the United States. These votes are an indicator of an evolving and increasingly challenging environment for university and college leadership, as well as evidence of a decline in shared governance – an environment that will likely become even more complex with Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Read More
Commentary: Statement by Professor Katherine Franke

January 10, 2025 1 min read

Katherine Franke
Academe Blog

Excerpt: For the last year and a half, as students at Columbia University and across the globe have protested against the Israeli government’s genocidal assault on Palestinians after the October 2023 attacks, a response that has resulted in horrendous devastation in Gaza, I have ardently defended students’ right to peaceful protest on our campus and across the country.  I truly believed that student engagement with the rights and dignity of Palestinians continued a celebrated tradition at Columbia University of student protest.

Instead, the University has allowed its own disciplinary process to be weaponized against members of our community, including myself. I have been targeted for my support of pro-Palestinian protesters – by the president of Columbia University, by several colleagues, by university trustees, and by outside actors.

Read More
Columbia Professor Says She Was Pushed to Retire Because of Her Activism

January 10, 2025 1 min read

Stephanie Saul
New York Times

Excerpt: Columbia University and one of its longtime law professors, Katherine Franke, have severed ties after an investigation stemming from her advocacy on behalf of pro-Palestinian students.

It was the latest fallout from student and faculty activism related to the Gaza War on a major university campus. Ms. Franke, a tenured professor known primarily for her work as founder and director of Columbia’s Center for Gender & Sexuality Law, had been an advocate for pro-Palestinian students as protests erupted on the campus last school year.

Read More