September 06, 2024
Scholarly Associations Aren’t Entitled to Their Opinions
Vanderbilt University (TN) Chancellor Daniel Diermeier writes:
The American Association of University Professors sparked a firestorm in higher education last month by reversing its longstanding opposition to academic boycotts. As wrongheaded as that move was—and as poorly received as it was by many, including the group representing America’s leading research universities—the real trouble with the AAUP began in February, when the organization signed on to a petition from organized labor calling for a cease-fire in Israel’s war in Gaza.