2024-05-14
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Study Abroad
IU Professors Take Stand Against Tenure Law To Safeguard Academic Integrity
IU Professors Take Stand Against Tenure Law To Safeguard Academic Integrity
IU Professors Take Stand Against Tenure Law To Safeguard Academic Integrity
Indiana University professors have filed a lawsuit against the state's new tenure law, which allows students and employees to file complaints against professors they believe are not promoting a culture of free inquiry. The law, which requires tenured professors to be reevaluated every five years, has been criticized by local faculty groups. The ACLU of Indiana claims that the law strips professors of their academic freedom, as it lacks clear definitions of "free expression" and "free inquiry." The lawsuit argues that the law could force professors to teach "divergent" views about slavery, such as the perspective that slavery ultimately benefitted African-American people. The professors are asking the judge to declare the statute unconstitutional, block it from taking effect in July, and award them legal fees and other relief. The American Association of University Professors, one at Indiana University Bloomington and the other at Purdue University West Lafayette published a joint statement in February arguing that the statute would undermine academic freedom and impede the two universities from recruiting and retaining talented faculty members.
