Vermillion, South Dakota (Mitchelnow)
The University of South Dakota has threatened to fire staff members in what appears to be a continuing attack on academic freedom, according to a report from the Daily Yonder. Two university administrators said they were told they would be fired if they did not comply with new state rules that would ban staff from using tribal affiliation or gender pronouns in their email signatures. This follows a 2022 state law that would restrict university training and funding for what it calls “divisive concepts,” including race, religion and sex. It is one of more than 150 bills introduced in state legislatures aimed at academic freedom and university governance, according to a new study. Author Isaac Camorra says academic freedom is essential for higher education to serve the public interest.
Opponents of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts argue that they lead to fear and resentment, but Camorra said restricting email petitions is one of several trending threats to higher education, including bans on critical race theory, weakening tenure and accreditation programs, and content mandates.
The University of South Dakota’s Student Senate passed a resolution in opposition to the policy, with Camorra calling the new rules “actively hostile.”
John Little, the university’s director of Indigenous recruitment and one of the staff who said their jobs were threatened, wrote in a statement on social media platform X that he still includes tribal affiliation and gender pronouns in emails.
