Academia’s Problem Is Bigger Than Tenure’s Decline

The issues at Bates and other colleges require a multifront approach to affirm academic freedom. Turn any article into a podcast. Upgrade now to start listening. Members can share articles with friends & family to bypass the paywall. Two weeks ago, former Bates College professor Tyler Austin Harper’s essay in The Atlantic about abandoning the tenure track made huge waves in academia. Harper, an African American professor who felt he was treated as a “racial prop” on a race- and DEI-obsessed campus, left a secure academic position out of frustration over how the culture prevailing in higher ed had led Bates to become “deeply, incorrigibly racist,” and to betray both principles and people in the name of social justice. Robert Shibley is Special Counsel for Campus Advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). More on Academia