Congressional subcommittee investigating UF over free speech, academic freedom concerns
Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A U.S. House of Representatives oversight subcommittee is investigating the University of Florida after several professors were prevented from participating in legislation against the State of Florida, a move many have since said calls into question the university's commitment to academic freedom and free speech.
In a letter sent to UF President Kent Fuchs on Thursday, Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties members wrote they were "concerned that UF is censoring its faculty based on viewpoint, which would set a dangerous precedent that flies in the face of its own commitment to freedom of expression ... As one of the top five public research universities in the nation, UF must ensure that it is not creating the appearance of anticipatory obedience or that it is responding to political pressure in deciding which speech activities it will permit."
The letter continued to say, "The Subcommittee is investigating the extent to which your universitys actions have undermined the integrity of academic freedom and interfered with employees constitutional right to speak freely as private citizens on matters of great public concern. In addition, we seek to understand the extent to which federally funded universities use conflicts-of-interest policies to censor employees who oppose the interests of the political party in power."
With a deadline of Dec. 2, the letter to Fuchs also requested a long list of documentation and information from UF, including records like communications from top university officials and the state regarding UF's Conflicts of Commitment and Conflicts of Interest policy and detailed explanations for denials of professors' requests to engage in outside activities.
Read more: https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/education/campus/2021/11/18/congressional-subcommittee-looking-into-academic-freedom-uf/8672113002/