Elite University Corruption

Have Universities Abandoned Their Commitment to Free Speech?

Our elite universities are failing our society, our country, and our world.

The long-held belief in the importance of academic freedom, and the long-cherished idea that highly-qualified experts should share their insights and knowledge with society, especially when they see dangers and injustices, is being substantially weakened.  The long-believed virtue of our universities being places where free and open debate about crucial issues occur, especially on the most sensitive and controversial issues, is being sacrificed at the altar of cowardice and fears about what might happen to the university officials and their financial grants as a result.

Consequently, very basic tenets of university life are being flagrantly undermined, even at our most distinguished universities, and this is destructive for democracy. 

Yale dismissed me after 17 years as faculty and 30 years since a student there—following my organizing some of the world’s most respected psychiatrists to speak up about the dangers of Donald Trump’s presidency—even though I helped establish Yale’s now-thriving Global Health Program.  I brought a lawsuit against Yale not for myself but to highlight how our universities have been infiltrated, clandestinely corrupted, and controlled by special interests in ways that undermine self-governance.  Not only are basic freedom of speech rights being undermined, but the independent expertise on many subjects about many issues that academics can and should share with society has eroded in its independence, quality, and public accessibility.

When this happens at our institutions of higher learning, study, and research, we are all diminished, and it is a sign of rising authoritarianism.

More than anything else academic free speech is the key issue that must be not only protected but nurtured and applauded.  When our universities, like our government and our media, succumb to special interests, monetary pressures, and back-handed threats, our entire democratic and free society are placed in serious peril.

There are countless illustrative cases, but here are just a few very recent ones:

·         Harvard reversed its block against Atty. Kenneth Roth for his criticism of Israel’s persecution of Palestinians as executive director of Human Rights Watch, but he expressed concerns over freedom of speech and donor influence

·         Foreign Affairs recently highlighted Prof. Richard Falk as author of one of the six most important books on international affairs in the last century, but Princeton refuses to invite him back to speak

·        When Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, chair of the Lancet Covid-19 Commission to investigate the origins of SARS-CoV-2, spotted dangerous experiments by U.S. biotech institutions and proposed an investigation, he rather endured personal attacks

·         Dr. Rose Abramoff urged fellow scientists to tell the truth about the climate emergency, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory fired her

·         Prof. Erika López Prater showed an image of Prophet Muhammad in a global art class, and Hamline University fired her

·         Dr. John Talmadge, after 20 years as full professor and award-winning founder of a program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, was dismissed after a wealthy donor complained about his opposition to the Trump presidency

·         Prof. Noam Chomsky reflected on the crisis and privatization of universities and academic institutions, and advocated for enabling the scientific community to make use of research funds without the intervention of politicians or donors