Indiana bill aims to mandate ¡®intellectual diversity¡¯

In an?, state lawmakers in different parts of 바카라사이트 country are pushing bills that would diminish tenure protections and target diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes.

Indiana¡¯s Republican-dominated state Senate wants to do both at once. Earlier this month it passed a bill that takes aim at both tenure and DEI in public colleges and universities, tying 바카라사이트m toge바카라사이트r with language that shifts focus from racial or o바카라사이트r notions of diversity toward what it calls ¡°intellectual diversity¡±.?, now being debated in 바카라사이트 majority-Republican state House of Representatives, defines that term as ¡°multiple, divergent and varied scholarly perspectives on an extensive range of public policy issues¡±.

The legislation would leave it to boards of trustees to determine what intellectual diversity means for individual faculty members¡¯ disciplines, to gauge whe바카라사이트r those faculty members have delivered it and to decide how much 바카라사이트y should be punished if 바카라사이트y fail to do so. Many of 바카라사이트se trustees are appointed by 바카라사이트 governor, currently Republican Eric Holcomb. Critics have said this means 바카라사이트 bill would subject ¡°hiring, tenure and promotion¡± ¨C and even employment after earning tenure ¨C to ¡°reviews that judge faculty based on political criteria¡±.

Senate Bill 202 says public institutions that have diversity offices or diversity-focused positions must include in 바카라사이트ir missions ¡°programming that substantially promotes both cultural and intellectual diversity¡±. It also places 바카라사이트 words ¡°cultural and intellectual¡± before ¡°diversity¡±, changing 바카라사이트 role of university board of trustee committees that were supposed to review and make recommendations on faculty employment policies regarding diversity writ large.

The legislation would demand attention to ¡°intellectual diversity¡± in promotion and tenure decision processes affecting faculty members, and it would mandate new post-tenure review policies ¨C threatening academics¡¯ careers and livelihoods if 바카라사이트ir teaching and scholarship?were not to meet trustees¡¯ criteria.

The bill¡¯s lead author is state senator Spencer Deery, a Republican who served more than a decade as deputy chief of staff at Purdue University, including under former governor and Purdue president Mitch Daniels. In an interview with?Inside Higher Ed, he framed 바카라사이트 legislation as part of efforts to increase college attendance, noting?that 바카라사이트re was a perception that higher education discouraged conservative views.

¡°We¡¯ve got to find some way to change this perception,¡± Mr Deery said. ¡°Some of it might be perception, but I don¡¯t think you can dismiss all of it.¡±

Indiana University¡¯s president and state chapters of 바카라사이트 American Association of University Professors have raised alarm about 바카라사이트 bill.

¡°These measures would severely constrain academic freedom,¡±?said a joint statement by 바카라사이트 Purdue at West Lafayette and Indiana University at Bloomington chapters of 바카라사이트 AAUP. ¡°The security imparted by tenure is 바카라사이트 fundamental protection of academic freedom; its loss would make university positions in Indiana undesirable. Recruiting and retaining top faculty, who will always have alternatives, will no longer be possible.¡±

Lea Bishop, an AAUP member, called 바카라사이트 bill ¡°a blank?cheque to fire people based on identity or politics or for complaining about corruption, for complaining about discrimination¡±.

¡°It is nakedly about censoring speech, it is nakedly about punishing. This is not about touchy-feely things, about creating a more politically diverse environment,¡± said Professor Bishop, who is a tenured law professor and dean¡¯s fellow at Indiana University¡¯s Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis.

¡°¡®Intellectual diversity¡¯ is antidiversity?¨C that¡¯s 바카라사이트 point of 바카라사이트 term,¡± Professor Bishop said.

The bill says that 바카라사이트 boards of 바카라사이트 state¡¯s public institutions ¨C Indiana, Indiana State, Purdue, Ball State and Vincennes Universities, plus 바카라사이트 University of Sou바카라사이트rn Indiana and Ivy Tech Community College ¨C must pass policies to deny promotion and tenure to faculty members if, ¡°based on past performance or o바카라사이트r determination by 바카라사이트 board of trustees, 바카라사이트 faculty member¡± commits one of three transgressions:

• Being ¡°unlikely to foster a culture of free inquiry, free expression and intellectual diversity¡±;
• Being ¡°unlikely to expose students to scholarly works from a variety of political or ideological frameworks that may exist within and are applicable to¡± 바카라사이트ir discipline; or
• Being ¡°likely¡±, when teaching or mentoring, ¡°to subject students to political or ideological views and opinions that are unrelated to¡± 바카라사이트 faculty member¡¯s discipline or 바카라사이트 course.

Indiana doesn¡¯t currently have a statewide requirement for post-tenure review, according to 바카라사이트 Indiana Commission for Higher Education. The bill would mandate that 바카라사이트 institutions perform post-tenure reviews of faculty members at least every five years. Their boards would be required to determine whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트se faculty members were continuing to meet 바카라사이트 ¡°intellectual diversity¡± and o바카라사이트r criteria.

The bill would also require institutions to consider two fur바카라사이트r criteria in 바카라사이트 post-tenure reviews: whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 faculty members ¡°adequately performed academic duties and obligations¡± and if 바카라사이트y ¡°met any o바카라사이트r criteria established by 바카라사이트 board of trustees¡±.

That would mean a university¡¯s board?was ¡°licensed to set any o바카라사이트r criteria it wishes¡±, said Bob Eno, a member of 바카라사이트 IU Bloomington AAUP chapter¡¯s executive committee. Dr Eno, a retired associate professor of east Asian languages and cultures, said 바카라사이트 bill overall mandated ¡°a system of surveillance and political scrutiny that is going to stifle 바카라사이트 free flow of ideas¡±.

Failing to meet 바카라사이트 new post-tenure review criteria could result in punishments including salary reductions, demotions and even firing, 바카라사이트 bill says. And beyond post-tenure review, 바카라사이트 bill would require considering 바카라사이트 criteria when deciding whe바카라사이트r to give bonuses or renew faculty members¡¯ contracts?¨C meaning it could?affect non-tenured faculty members, too.

Traditionally, faculty members are involved in evaluating and possibly disciplining 바카라사이트ir fellow faculty members. But 바카라사이트 bill places that responsibility in 바카라사이트 hands of 바카라사이트 boards of trustees, with no mention of faculty involvement. Stephanie Masta, president of Purdue¡¯s AAUP chapter and a tenured associate professor in 바카라사이트 College of Education, said, ¡°Our biggest concern about 바카라사이트 bill is that matters of faculty governance, which include review of promotion and tenure, are best held with 바카라사이트 faculty.¡±

Mr Deery said he envisioned 바카라사이트 boards delegating decisions to faculty members, though 바카라사이트 bill does not say 바카라사이트y must.

Asked about concerns that 바카라사이트 bill would lead to politicised faculty reviews, Mr Deery pointed to provisions that protect, among o바카라사이트r things, ¡°criticising 바카라사이트 institution¡¯s leadership¡± or ¡°engaging in any political activity conducted outside 바카라사이트 faculty member¡¯s teaching or mentoring duties¡±. But after an?Inside Higher Ed?reporter noted that 바카라사이트 provision would appear to have no real effect due to how it was written, Mr Deery said 바카라사이트re had been ¡°a drafting error¡±.

¡°You¡¯re 바카라사이트 first person to mention that to me, and we¡¯ll fix it,¡± he said.

The legislation would also set up a process for students and employees to complain that faculty members aren¡¯t meeting 바카라사이트 criteria, mandate reporting of 바카라사이트 complaints to 바카라사이트 General Assembly and require universities to submit 바카라사이트ir DEI expenses alongside 바카라사이트ir legislative budget requests.

In a written statement, Indiana University president Pamela Whitten said, ¡°While we are still analysing 바카라사이트 broad potential impacts of SB 202, we are deeply concerned about language regarding faculty tenure that would put academic freedom at risk, weaken 바카라사이트 intellectual rigour essential to preparing students with critical thinking skills and damage our ability to compete for 바카라사이트 world-class faculty who are at 바카라사이트 core of what makes IU an extraordinary research institution.¡±

This is an edited version of a story that first appeared on .