Professor Eric Rasmusen has, for many years, used his private social media accounts to disseminate his racist, sexist, and homophobic views. When I label his views in this way, let me note that the labels are not a close call, nor do his posts require careful parsing to reach these conclusions.
Source: Statements: Office of the Provost & Executive Vice President: Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University has a professor who is apparently so self-documentingly racist and sexist that they feel they have to address it publicly. In this admission, they promise to make accommodations for students who do not want to take classes from him, and declare that he will be subject to double-blind grading procedures so that his views can’t affect grades.
Here’s a crazy thought: FIRE HIM!
This is what you get with the equally-archaic-as-racism-and-sexism system that is academic tenure. How ridiculous is it that universities have the audacity to foist this unmeritorious system on students and parents, as they purport to be the gatekeepers of justice, equity, and wisdom, all while they continue their downward spiral of value and relevance on a young person’s future?
Truly, this is a case of dying by the same sword you lived by. What other job in the entirety of our capitalistic society has a mechanism whereby one can be immune from the repercussions of being a misanthrope, and still be guaranteed a job for life? This is just one example, but, for many reasons, I think it’s time to get rid of this system, and not just in post-secondary schools, but at all levels.