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Today’s blacklisted American: Professor quits because of the leftist takeover of his college

Matthew Wielicki
Matthew Wielicki

Matthew Wielicki, a professor at the University of Alabama, has quit his job because of what he calls the “rise of illiberalism” as well as the takeover of the college by the leftist diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) crowd.

While Matthew Wielicki said his main reason for leaving Tuscaloosa was to be closer to family in Colorado, the “rise of illiberalism” made his decision easier. “The rise of illiberalism in the name of DEI is the antithesis of the principles that universities were founded on,” Wielicki tweeted Monday. “These are no longer places that embrace the freedom of exchanging ideas and will punish those that go against the narrative.”

You can read his full statement in this thread on Twitter.

Wielicki, an earth science professor, also attributed the fake panic over the fake “global warming crisis” as a reason for leaving.

Contributing to this is the earth science communities silence on the false “climate emergency” narrative. Members of the community routinely discuss the mental health effects of climate catastrophism but dare not speak out lest they lose their positions and research funds.

Wielicki’s announcement, which was greeted with some accolades in conservative media, was really an admission of defeat. Rather than stay and fight, he was running. As he correctly noted, his speaking out was not going to lead to any improvement at the university at all. Instead:

Wielicki said his speaking out amounted to “career suicide.” … “Just asking questions, having discussions, now makes you a heretic,” he said, “and we no longer have these discussions.”

American academia is now the home of oppression and intolerance, designed to indoctrinate future generations into accepting this sad state of affairs. And few are fighting back.

—————
I have been working on a long blacklist column, probably for tomorrow, so the blacklist essay today is unfortunately short.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
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11 comments

  • Bob Wilson

    Dr. Wielicki was an assistant professor, i.e. no tenure. I’m not saying that his reasons for leaving are false. just that it’s usually a battle for an assistant professor to get tenure. If you have his heretical (in today’s academia) beliefs, that would make it that much harder to get tenure.

  • Bob Wilson

    As you have commented in other cases like this, Mr. Zimmerman, there’s no excuse for the University of Alabama to be so leftist. Alabama is a solid Republican state. The legislature should have Dr. Wielicki and the president of the university and the trustees in front of them explaining what’s going on there. The legislature has the power of the purse and they should exercise it. There will be shrieks of infringement of academic freedom, but Wielicki has shown there is none for people like him who do not toe the left wing line.. Ron Desantis is making some headway in Florida but universities across the world are rotten to the core.

  • I would like to see a precipitous, and long-term, decline in international student enrollment at American universities. An American university education used to be coveted, and in some fields, still is, but for those more interested in education over indoctrination, there are many other choices. And I can’t imagine those students enjoy getting involuntarily co-opted into someone else’s grievances. Universities make a lot of money off international enrollments; a significant decline would have an effect.

  • Bob Wilson: Until legislatures start cutting off the funding to these corrupt institutions, nothing will change.

    And passing laws banning DEI or critical race theory is pure failure theater, something that Republicans are very practiced at, which is why we are where we are today.

  • wayne

    Bob / Blair —
    tangentially– why do you need to be licensed to teach K-12 grades, but no license is required at a college/university?

    Directly to both your points–>
    –adjunct faculty get exploited by the very people who claim to be fighting exploitation.
    –the “college brand” once relied upon strict admission standards, so if you were able to get in and graduate, those factoids alone showed prospective employers you were workable and had a basic set of knowledge.
    (Apparently Stanford has eliminated the SAT as an admission criterion….)

    Jordan Peterson Ep325 (1-23-23)
    Victor Davis Hanson & The downfall of the ivy league
    https://youtu.be/SUC2Xk2YW9M
    1:45:02

  • Jeff Wright

    Cut the funding and you cut research,..and then they will be like Twitter was…using private concerns to establish a power base. I say flip the script-use EEOC to defend this man-eminent domain to put foreign held farms back in American hands-Federal laws to open up diamond lanes to all traffic.

    It must also be said that the left takes better care of its own. I am not mad at the woke rich like Soros and actors who bail out rioters-my anger is reserved for conservative moneymen that don’t have the backs of people like this professor left to twist in the wind after maybe a blurb on Fox.
    Once the lights go out-he’s all alone. Hey My Pillow guy? I’m looking at you.

  • George C

    Until a certain problem stated by the Clay Mathematics Institute is solved there is going to be room for vast amounts of error and churn and waste of time and money in Weilicki’s field.
    https://www.claymath.org/millennium-problems/navier%E2%80%93stokes-equation

  • Alton

    Here is an one hour interview with the Professor:

    https://www.youtube.com/live/nlTrY-Gn-j4?feature=share

  • wayne

    Alton-
    Thanks for that link!

  • David Ross

    Alabama’s legislature isn’t as conservative as people think. The politicians talk a good game but only good enough to keep getting elected.
    How to put this delicately: the state is demographically split. The Democrats have a lock on their base. If the Republicans meanwhile lose 10% of their vote, they lose. This encourages a culture of playing safe, especially – especially – over DEI.

  • wayne

    George C.–
    -going down the rabbit hole on this Navier-Stokes stuff!

    Navier-Stokes Equations
    Numberphile, Tom Crawford, August, 2019
    https://youtu.be/ERBVFcutl3M
    21:02

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