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Diving overview:
- two Purdue University Fort Wayne professor filed a lawsuit this week Indiana is seeking to block a new state law that would tie tenure at public universities to whether instructors encourage intellectual diversity.
- By statute, university trustees can deny tenure to a professor if he or she does not “foster a culture of free inquiry, freedom of expression, and intellectual diversity.” If tenured faculty fail to meet these requirements, they may be subject to disciplinary action, including pay reductions, demotion, and dismissal.
- This bill is scheduled to take effect on July 1. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit on behalf of two tenured professors, arguing that the law is unconstitutional because it violates First Amendment rights.
Dive Insights:
Local professor groups also criticized the retirement age law. before passing by Indiana Legislature at the end of February.
In addition to the new tenure requirements, the law allows students and employees to file complaints against professors who they say do not promote a culture of free inquiry. And tenured professors must be reevaluated against these standards every five years.
Two chapters of the American Association of University Professors — One is at Indiana University Bloomington and the other is at Purdue University West Lafayette. issued a joint statement february They argued that the ordinance would violate academic freedom and prevent the two universities from recruiting and retaining talented faculty.
Soon after, lawmakers passed the bill, and Gov. Eric Holcomb signed into law.
This week's lawsuit filed in federal district court against Purdue's trustees reflects previous criticism levied against the statute.
The statute “puts Indiana’s professors in an indefensible position,” said Stevie Pactor, staff attorney for the ACLU of Indiana. said in a statement. “Through vague language and threats of harsh sanctions, including termination, this law deprives professors of the academic freedom that the Supreme Court has long recognized that professors have a right to exercise.”
The law defines intellectual diversity as “diverse, diverse and diverse academic perspectives,” but does not elaborate on the meaning of “freedom of expression” or “freedom of inquiry.” According to the complaint, none of the plaintiffs understood their responsibilities or what actions they were required to avoid under the statute.
Accordingly, the two professors claim in the lawsuit that they “believe they may be coerced or prohibited from speaking” in violation of their right to freedom of expression.
One of the plaintiffs is David Schuster, a history professor who is seeking promotion to full professor, according to the complaint. The suit says Schuster does not believe that “diverse” views on slavery should be taught, such as the view that “slavery ultimately benefited African Americans.”
Another plaintiff, communications professor Steven Carr, has similar concerns, the complaint said. Carr is a director of the company. It is a Holocaust and Genocide Studies Institute and will be teaching four classes this coming school year.
“A ‘variety’ of views regarding the existence and extent of the Holocaust exist, ranging from denials that the Holocaust occurred to ‘revisionist’ explanations that contest the extent and causes of genocide,” the lawsuit states. I insist. “Professor Carr will not teach that ‘viewpoint,’ but the language of the statute appears to require him to do so.”
Carr shared with reporters Tuesday his concerns that the ordinance would breathe new life into theories that are not factual.
“That is simply unacceptable,” Carr said.
The two professors are asking a judge to declare the statute unconstitutional, block it from going into effect in July, and award legal costs and other relief.
Purdue University spokesman Tim Doty said the institution has not yet received a lawsuit. But Doty pointed to a February statement from a top university official who said Purdue remains committed to academic freedom.
“Unlike many other institutions that have gone down a convenient but slippery slope in recent years, this university censors controversial speech, cools unfashionable viewpoints, cancels campus events, and hires professors and fellows. I have not and will not participate in the business of suspending people. , or making endless institutional public statements on social and political issues.” According to the statement.