DEFENDING ACADEMIC INTEGRITY ● PROTECTING FACULTY RIGHTS
South Carolina’s “Liberty Caucus” just declared war on universities.
Colleagues,
On Wednesday the South Carolina House of Representatives passed Bill H.3927, which prohibits state agencies, including higher education institutions like CCU, from establishing or maintaining offices that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and forbids mandatory DEI-related training. The bill also bans contracts with vendors that uphold DEI policies. Next, the bill will head to the SC Senate before heading to the governor’s desk for signing. It will almost certainly become a law.
On the surface, the bill focuses on organizational policies and practices. However, it includes deliberately vague language by targeting “any programs promoting DEI.” This can be interpreted to mean academic programs, or even individual courses. Because of that, if this bill is enacted, it will be the most aggressive state-level anti-DEi law in the entire nation.
In the past, the AAUP and individual colleges and universities in the state had been able to convince the so-called “Liberty Caucus” (the MAGA wing of the SC legislature) that interfering with in-class instruction would be detrimental to academic freedom and academic instruction more broadly. That is no longer the case.
Institutions like the Medical University of South Carolina, University of South Carolina, Clemson University, and The Citadel, expressed concerns about potential increased costs and operational impacts of the legislation. Sadly it doesn’t appear that CCU joined the list of advocates against the bill.
For us here at CCU, this legislation raises significant concerns. The prohibition of DEI initiatives will sabotage our efforts to foster inclusive and supportive educational environments, and will negatively affect faculty development programs and student engagement strategies alike. Additionally, by restricting DEI-related content, the bill will almost certainly lead to increased state-level censorship in curricula, impeding academic freedom and the ability to address diverse perspectives in teaching and research.
We have been fighting against legislation like this at the state level for nearly three years now. This development constitutes a significant victory for the enemies of academic freedom and constitutes a direct assault on our profession. It is a declaration of war against everything the AAUP/AFT stands for. And we will fight it!
In Solidarity – Joseph Fitsanakis, PhD, President AAUP/AFT-CCU
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AAUP-CCU 