Weekly Briefing: Florida Dean Says He Was Told to Reject Professor's Request to Testify in Voting-Rights Case

On Monday the dean detailed how the decision had come about. ADVERTISEMENT [Academe Today Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. U. of Florida Dean Says He Was Told to Reject Professor’s Request to Testify in Voting-Rights Case Just when you thought the academic-freedom story at the University of Florida was over, it’s not. This week our Emma Pettit reported that the dean who had rejected a professor’s request to offer expert testimony against the state in a voting-rights case had made the call at the direction of senior administrators. The situation, which also involved the rejection of two other professors’ requests, prompted [international criticism]( of the threat to academic freedom. A week after the news broke about the rejections, the university [reversed its decision](. David Richardson, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, handled one of the requests. On Monday he spoke to a shared-governance group, the CLAS Assembly, about his role in the controversy. His remarks suggested that the directive to bar the professors from testifying had come from on high at the university. Richardson [explained]( the]( how such activities are reviewed for approval. He showed a chart that noted that sometimes the president’s cabinet is consulted on these decisions. When Richardson received the request, he said, he “inquired” with the central administration because in the court case the defendant was an “officer or an official of the state government.” He sent other information for review and later was told that “the UF policy would be for me to disapprove.” Richardson also said that he had asked for “further discussion” to better understand the policy, but didn’t have that conversation. The general counsel’s office sent him language to explain the disapproval stating: “Outside activities that may pose a conflict of interest to the executive branch of the State of Florida create a conflict for the University of Florida.” Richardson carried out the university policy. He said that either denying the request or defying the administration could have prompted “negative consequences.” But after the news broke about the rejections, Richardson said he had spoken with colleagues who knew about conflicts of interest. Then he studied up on public-employee issues and conflicts of interests, and changed course. On November 3 he told the president and the provost about his change of mind. Two days later W. Kent Fuchs,president of the University of Florida, reversed the rejections. Richardson maintained that he was not implying his decision had contributed to Fuchs’s reversal, but he did express remorse. “I really regret,” Richardson said, “the fact that this episode has shaken the trust that you have in me.” [Read Emma’s full story here](. SPONSOR CONTENT | stony brook university [Learn how students are preparing for the interwoven challenges of climate change.]( ADVERTISEMENT Lagniappe - Learn. This one made me laugh. Eating the stickers on your produce won’t hurt you, but [don’t make it a habit](. (The New York Times) - Read. This week the fiction prize in the [National Book Award]( competition went to Jason Mott for Hell of a Book. I can’t recommend this novel enough. The Twilight Zone, by Nona Fernández, was a finalist in the[translated]( category](. It’s also great. (National Book Foundation) - Listen. Here’s a primer for Thanksgiving: The episode “Justine” from the podcast [Heavyweight]( is about a woman who wants to know whether the larger-than-life stories her father told were true. Fact-checking him got complicated. (Spotify) I’m taking off next Saturday to celebrate Thanksgiving. This newsletter will be back in your inbox on Saturday, December 4. —Fernanda UPCOMING EVENT [Join us January 10-14]( for a virtual professional development program on overcoming the challenges of the department chair role and creating a strategic vision for individual and departmental growth. [Reserve your spot now](. Space is limited. Chronicle Top Reads FROM THE ARCHIVES, A 2012 ARTICLE [Here’s Smarty-Pants, Home for the Holidays]( By Stacey Patton [STORY IMAGE]( Besides having to deal with academic demands, many graduate students from working-class backgrounds feel like strangers in their own families at this time of year. 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