26 December 2001
College professors call report a prelude to blacklist, stifling academic freedom
Association advocates pro-America curriculum
The Seattle Times, The Baltimore Sun

The report, published by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, details more than 100 examples of what its authors call a prevailing "blame America first" sentiment on college campuses.

The politically well-connected nonprofit association, founded in 1995 by Lynne Cheney, the wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, believes American students are graduating without a proper appreciation for what makes America great.

"We were struck by the moral cleavage that exists between the intellectual elites and mainstream America," said Anne Neal, the group's vice president. "At a time when we are defending our civilization - and that's what this war on terrorism is about - we wanted to alert university trustees that it is incumbent upon them to make sure U.S. history and the heritage of Western civilization is fairly transmitted on their campuses."

But some professors identified in the report say singling out those critical of the U.S. government smacks of a witch hunt.

The council says its goal is to broaden the dialogue on campus, but critics say the report strikes at academic freedom and could stifle political dissent.

Critics also point to the early 1950s, when anti-communist hysteria swept the country, ruining careers and wrecking lives.

The council's report, published last month, "was intended to scare people and have a chilling effect, particularly on junior faculty who are more likely to be intimidated," said David P. Barash, a tenured psychology professor at the University of Washington in Seattle who is named in the report.

Others are concerned that the report will be used to pressure college trustees to adopt a required curriculum of U.S. history and civics with a nationalistic bent.

"That agenda is serious, too, because it has to do with what gets taught," said Barbara Foley, a Rutgers University English professor quoted in the report. "This report is another installment in the Lynne Cheney culture wars."

The concept of academic freedom has been a hot topic as professors struggle over how to teach about the aftermath of Sept. 11 and what led to it.

Some say they should teach their perspective of the tragedy - that U.S. policies engendered the hatred that led to the terrorism.

The council believes biases against the U.S. government taint lessons and are dangerous influences on students.

David Price, an anthropologist at St. Martin's College near Olympia, Wash., and a critic of the 38-page report, said the pro-war position of the U.S. government is influencing the amount of dissent on campuses.

"There are certainly pressures for faculty and students who have opposing views to perform self-censorship when talking about politics," he said. "We ... have a long history in the country of there being consequences for speaking out against the government."

Price has written a book that lays out a plethora of evidence on FBI intimidation of anthropologists who advocated racial equality during the McCarthy blacklisting.

Barash is not intimidated by his inclusion in the report and said that his administration has been supportive.

"I have been anti-war for as long as I can remember," he said. "But the irony is that this is the war for which I feel most ambivalent. I'm being fingered for not being patriotic when I'm not sure at all that I am opposed to this war."

The council report, when first issued, identified faculty, students and campus speakers by name. But names were removed a few days later in a revised report.

The council also excised two of the 117 examples it originally laid out, including one by George Borts, an economics professor at Brown University.

He said he called the council to complain that his statement about the CIA was misinterpreted as critical.

"I told them I felt like I had been killed by friendly fire," said Borts, who supports the council's objective of offsetting a perceived trend toward political correctness in higher education. He brands the report a heavy-handed blunder.

"No one should have the license to hunt unpatriotic speech," Borts said. "My feeling is the report, as first issued, started in that direction. And it backfired on them."

Neal, the group's vice president, said the revision was made because too many people focused on the names instead of the message. The report is intended to broaden the dialogue on campuses, not inhibit it, she said.

Barash, however, said if that really is the council's goal, it could achieve that by promoting the expression of its own viewpoint on campuses rather than "impugning the patriotism of those who disagree with them."

The council describes its mission as promoting academic freedom, excellence and accountability.

Cheney is the council's chairwoman emeritus, joined on the governing board by U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, former Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm, former Cabinet Secretary William J. Bennett and Nobel laureate Saul Bellow.

It advances its agenda by lobbying governors to initiate higher-education reforms and offers to train college trustees on governance. The council also encourages governors and trustees to adopt required curriculum on American history and civics.

Neal pointed out that the council came to the defense of a tenured University of New Mexico history professor quoted in the report who was threatened with discipline by his administration.

"Our support of him should underline that we support academic freedom," Neal said.