The Faculty Senate’s power to condemn or rebuke has been under considerable debate for the last couple of years following a 2020 censure of a Hoover Institution fellow.
The Faculty Senate decided that it does not have the power to condemn or rebuke individuals, while clarifying that it retains the right to a no-confidence vote on senior leadership during its Thursday meeting.
The vote followed years of debate and review stemming from the senate’s 2020 censure of Scott Atlas, a Hoover Institution fellow who advised President Trump on COVID-19 policy. That censure raised broader questions about academic freedom, due process, and the senate’s role in formal condemnation or rebuke.
As senators revisited the issue, many agreed that the body needed to clarify its authority.
In voting to approve the motion, some senators emphasized the importance of institutional neutrality, warned against chilling debate, or noted that existing mechanisms already allow for faculty discipline and individual expression.
“I view our values of academic freedom and diversity of thought as being paramount to how we come together as a university, and when we disagree with one another, which we should do frequently and vigorously, then we respond by arguing with one another and by educating our students, our peers, and potentially the public,” said Sarah Heilshorn, the Rickey/Nielsen Professor in the School of Engineering and professor, by courtesy, of bioengineering and of chemical engineering.