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Subject: Weekly Briefing: Fearing Political Backlash, U. of Florida Told Professors to Stall a Race Initiative
Fearing Political Backlash, U. of Florida Told Professors to Stall a Race Initiative
There’s more to the academic-freedom story at the University of Florida. Another professor, Chris Busey, has accused the institution of violating his academic freedom to avoid a potential backlash or action from state lawmakers.
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Fearing Political Backlash, U. of Florida Told Professors to Stall a Race Initiative
There’s more to the academic-freedom story at the University of Florida. Another professor, Chris Busey, has accused the institution of violating his academic freedom to avoid a potential backlash or action from state lawmakers.
The situation was documented in a grievance filed on Sunday by the faculty union. Busey, an associate professor in the university’s College of Education, is a member of the Collective for Black Student Advancement, a group of faculty and staff members, students, and administrators who meet to figure out how the university can better support its Black students and faculty, and to oppose systemic racism.
In the collective, Busey serves on the curriculum committee, which focuses on how to understand racism and antiracism in education. The committee drafted a proposal, “Critical Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture in Education,” to formalize a degree focus that was already operating informally, Busey said. Another education professor said the proposal seemed relatively simple since the courses already existed.
But in the summer of 2021, critical race theory became a national target for conservatives. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a Republican, was one of many voices criticizing the theory.
In September, Busey and other faculty members met with Chris J. Hass, associate provost for academic and faculty affairs. According to notes Busey took during the meeting, Hass told the group that using the words “critical” and “race” together was an problem. He suggested that they consider renaming the concentration or delay their work until the state legislative session had concluded. Busey noted that Hass had invoked a message from Mark Kaplan, UF’s vice president for government and community relations, who was not at the meeting. Hass told the faculty members that Kaplan had said the state had a positive view of the college, which would be financially beneficial. Hass also said the college should avoid doing anything that could threaten that relationship, according to Busey’s notes.
Hass added that the institution’s president, W. Kent Fuchs, and Joseph Glover, the provost, were “not in a position to protect the college,” according to Busey’s notes.
Two faculty members at the meeting said they remember the interaction similarly.
The episode shows that university administrators seem unwilling to provoke the Republican-controlled state Legislature. The union’s grievance says the actions contradict stated principles of academic freedom.
This grievance was filed just weeks after UF made headlines for barring professors from testifying in litigation against the state. That prompted criticism that the university was bending to partisan pressure, so it quickly reversed its decision, saying there was no external influence. In a meeting Friday, Morteza (Mori) Hosseini, chairman of the Board of Trustees, denied having had any influence on the decision and stated unequivocally that Florida’s Republican governor had played “absolutely zero” role in the matter.
Learn. If you stress over a task or situation that seems simple, you may be uncomfortable with things that are too easy. This newsletter elaborates on that food for thought. (The Imperfectionist)
Read. It’s the holiday season. It’s shopping season. In this newsletter, Amanda Greeley asks, “Can we actually afford to consume the way we do?” (Substack)
Listen. I trust the folks at NPR. Here are their picks for the best songs of 2021. (NPR)
Watch. Who said social media is just distraction? Learn about architecture, interior design, and history in 60 seconds with this TikTok account. (TikTok)
What Did You Do This Year?
Best-of-year and end-of-year lists are here. And I’ve read them all. At least, it feels as if I have. Inspired by the journalist Taylor Trudon’s annual tweet, I want to hear the best things you’ve read, listened to, watched, or done in 2021. Send your response to fernanda@chronicle.com, and you may see it in next week’s newsletter. I’ll go first:
Read: This was hard, but The Possessed, by Elif Batuman, and Fake Accounts, by Lauren Oyler, take the cake. Listened to: The albumsThe Secret Life of VIDEOTAPEMUSIC, by VIDEOTAPEMUSIC, and Sour, by Olivia Rodrigo. The song “Like a Ship,” by Pastor T.L. Barrett and the Youth for Christ Choir. Watched: The movie Minari and the miniseries The White Lotus. Done: In January, when Covid-19 vaccine availability was scarce and online scheduling was a waiting game, I got vaccination appointments for a handful of elderly friends and strangers.
The going rate for a top-flight football coach is now around $10 million a year. Contemplating what else campuses could spend that money on can be distressing.
Fernanda is the engagement editor at The Chronicle. She is the voice behind Chronicle newsletters like the Weekly Briefing, Five Weeks to a Better Semester, and more. She also writes about what Chronicle readers are thinking. Send her an email at fernanda@chronicle.com.