On June 15, Harvard’s Dean of Social Sciences published an op-ed in the Harvard Crimson arguing that professors could properly be punished for saying things in public that might “incite” outside actors—like alumni and donors—to “intervene in Harvard’s affairs.” The subtext seemed to be that faculty who spoke out about the leadership of the dean’s ally, the former president Claudine Gay, should be punished. This take has proven to be controversial, as co-blogger Jonathan Adler quickly noted.
On June 20, I published a rejoinder to Dean Bobo in the Chronicle of Higher Education. From the piece:
Bobo’s views were conventional wisdom among university officials and trustees in 1900. They are shocking in 2024. Shocking, but unfortunately no longer surprising. The Harvard dean’s arguments resonate with a growing movement of those who wish to muzzle the faculty. Professors are to be free to speak, so long as they do not say anything…
