A top Berkeley academic who issued a warning about Donald Trump’s effect on higher education’s independence similarly imposed hypocritical DEI rules in the college’s classrooms.
Last month, the Trump administration cut $400 million in grants and contracts to Columbia University, demanding an overhaul of its Middle Eastern studies department amid rising antisemitism allegations following nationwide anti-Israel protests on college campuses.
The controversial decision sparked backlash, with many viewing it as a direct attack on academia and professors’ freedom to teach and research without interference.
Amani Nuru-Jeter, chair of the University of California, Berkeley’s academic senate, agreed – joining the voices of those who argue the administration’s actions would stifle students’ ability to learn freely.
‘Recent actions by the federal government are chilling open inquiry and undermining self-governance at American universities,’ she wrote in an email to colleagues on April 1, which were obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
‘Current efforts to curtail academic freedom will stifle the rights of faculty to teach and conduct research without external interference,’ she continued.
‘If allowed to prevail, these actions will undermine the rights of students to study and learn through free inquiry into controversial material.’
However, Nuru-Jeter introduced a series of ‘antiracism’ requirements for all courses taught at the School of Public Health in 2021, demanding that at least 10 percent of course readings ‘focus on/be authored from black, indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC) communities’.
Amani Nuru-Jeter, chair of the University of California, Berkeley’s academic senate, warned that the ‘fate of higher education’ is at risk with Trump in office over an email sent to colleagues earlier this month, but critics are calling the top academic ‘hypocritical’
Last month, the Trump administration cut $400 million in grants and contracts to Columbia University , demanding an overhaul of its Middle Eastern studies department amid rising antisemitism allegations following nationwide anti-Israel protests on college campuses
Nuru-Jeter introduced a series of ‘antiracism’ requirements for all courses taught at the School of Public Health in 2021, demanding that at least 10 percent of course readings ‘focus on/be authored from Black, Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC) communities’
Additionally, a third of the university’s guest speakers were required to be from communities of color.
‘Racism and injustice is perpetuated by silence,’ the email announcing the requirements read.
‘I/we commit to leading, to the best of my/our ability, the uncomfortable conversations and turn them into teachable moments; and invite all students to do the same even though we may not all be confident or fully-skilled at doing so.’
Professors were required to update their syllabi with the ‘antiracism’ statement – drafted with the help of Nuru-Jeter – which was written in the form of a contract.
It included a promise to ‘disrupt harmful power dynamics’ and remove students who used language that might make others feel uncomfortable.
Professors who failed to follow Nuru-Jeter’s newly implemented rules could have their course evaluations negatively affected. In the email, the academic announced that the course evaluations would also be updated to include questions on anti-racism.
One proposed question read: ‘How much did the course incorporate an anti-racist/racial equity lens into the course content, course materials, course activities and course assignments?’
Another asked: ‘How effective was the instructor in discussing the significance of race, racism, power and positionality in the classroom, in the discipline, in the course content?’
Professors were required to update their syllabi with the ‘antiracism’ statement – drafted with the help of Nuru-Jeter – which was written in the form of a contract that included questions on anti-racism
In Nuru-Jeter’s 2021 syllabus, a new rule required a third of the university’s guest speakers to be from communities of color, as she pushed for shielding students from ideas that didn’t align with an ‘equity-minded lens’
Nuru-Jeter’s new requirements included a promise to ‘disrupt harmful power dynamics’ and remove students who used language that might make others feel uncomfortable
The answer choices were: not at all, a little, somewhat, a lot OR poor, fair, good, very good and excellent.
Nuru-Jeter’s seeming hypocrisy became especially prevalent this spring, when she issued two statements about academic freedom within just one month.
‘We are living through a federal assault on higher education and the values and mission we all hold so dear,’ she wrote to faculty in a March email, signed ‘in solidarity’.
‘This assault is top of mind for all faculty and thus is the Senate’s top priority.’
In her April 1 email, Nuru-Jeter doubled down on the same themes as she discussed the importance of ‘the free exchange of ideas’, quoting first chancellor of Berkeley, Clark Kerr, who said the university’s job was to make students ‘safe for ideas’.
However, Nuru-Jeter pushed for shielding students from ideas that didn’t align with an ‘equity-minded lens’ while in her role at the School of Public Health.
The anti-racist syllabus statement, described by Nuru-Jeter as ‘a collective effort including me’, made it clear that opposing views were not allowed, declaring that ‘racism and injustice is perpetuated by silence’.
‘I/we will disrupt harmful power dynamics and engage in active bystander intervention to uncover and dismantle prejudice, bias and other harmful practices,’ she wrote in the 2021 email.
Nuru-Jeter’s rules along with her promotion to senate chair raised concerns about how sincere these communities are, as they showed that colleges were already willing to limit their educators’ independence even before the Trump administration took action
At the School of Public Health, faculty hiring focused on making sure candidates shared the same values, essentially giving ‘diversity statements’ equal importance as research and teaching
Donald Trump has recently escalated his attacks on America’s elite colleges amid investigations into allegations of antisemitism after anti-Israel protests quickly spread across the nation’s campuses
‘Language or comments that alienate, demean and denigrate other students in the classroom will not be tolerated, and may result in removal from class.’
At the School of Public Health, faculty hiring focused on making sure candidates shared the same values, essentially giving ‘diversity statements’ equal importance as research and teaching.
While UC Berkeley stopped using diversity statements for hiring, the school’s public health program still checks for DEI by requiring all potential job applicants to give a ‘diversity talk’ during their interview.
In response to the Trump administration, many schools across the country have defended academic freedom.
Yet Nuru-Jeter’s rules along with her promotion to senate chair raised concerns about how sincere these communities are, as they showed that colleges were already willing to limit their educators’ independence even before the Trump administration took action.
Essentially, critics argue that Nuru-Jeter publicly spoke out against government interference in teaching, yet forced her own political views into the university’s education – similar to what she was now criticizing.
‘Too many of the university administrators now paying lip service to this pivotal principal previously played a key role in stifling academic freedom,’ Ross Marchand, an attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), told the Washington Free Beacon.
‘Hollow words are no substitute for firm action to defend academic freedom, and only time will tell how deep this commitment to academic freedom is,’ he added.
While UC Berkeley stopped using diversity statements for hiring, the school’s public health program still checks for DEI by requiring all potential job applicants to give a ‘diversity talk’ during their interview
The anti-racist syllabus statement, described by Nuru-Jeter as ‘a collective effort including me’, made it clear that opposing views were not allowed, declaring that ‘racism and injustice is perpetuated by silence’
Professors at Berkley who failed to follow Nuru-Jeter’s newly implemented rules faced the risk of having their course evaluations negatively affected
‘Professors are not actors to be fed an ideologically infused script. When administrators hand them talking points and dictate content, they’re not just micromanaging – they’re censoring.’
Trump has recently escalated his attacks on America’s elite colleges amid investigations into allegations of antisemitism after anti-Israel protests quickly spread across the nation’s campuses.
The administration announced on Tuesday that it had frozen over $1 billion in funding from Cornell University and $790 million from Northwestern University amid ‘several ongoing credible and concerning Title IV investigations’.
Title IV of the Civil Rights Act prohibits institutions of higher education from receiving any federal funding if they participate in or enable discrimination based on race, national origin, religion or other characteristics.
By invoking the act, the Trump administration is pausing grants and contracts with the federal departments of health, education, agriculture and defense, a Trump official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The two schools are now the latest to be targeted by the administration, after it pulled millions in federal funding from Columbia University over its handling of the protests last year.
Both Cornell and Northwestern were included in a list of 60 universities that the Trump administration warned last month could face enforcement actions if a review determined the schools had failed to quell the antisemitism on its campuses.
