Leadership in the Age of Cancel Culture: Responding to Demands for Exclusion or Removal

Join Scholars at Risk (SAR) and the SAR-United States Section for Lines, Line-Drawing, and Consequences, a five-part discussion series that will explore common situations that invoke core values on college and university campuses. Every other Wednesday, SAR Executive Director Rob Quinn will lead a discussion about a particular paradigm, drawing on recent case examples. The sessions will be interactive, and will offer participants tools for assessing incidents and developing pro-values responses for their campus.

 

SESSION 1: LEADERSHIP IN THE AGE OF CANCEL CULTURE: RESPONDING TO DEMANDS FOR EXCLUSION OR REMOVAL

The Chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder responds to calls for dismissal of a visiting professor who spoke alongside President Trump at the January 6th rally preceding the Capitol riots, following previous calls for the professor’s ‘cancelation’ after authoring a controversial op-ed.

The Provost of the University of Indiana at Bloomington (IU) issues a widely-circulated statement in response to mounting calls for the resignation of a business professor after his comments on Twitter fracture the academic community. IU later launches an investigation and the professor is placed on unpaid leave.

Calls for ‘canceling’ faculty or staff have become increasingly common challenges for college and university leadership. How can higher education leaders address discontentment, in the form of concerns or demands, among their students, faculty, and staff? How can leaders assess the consistency with core higher education values? Using the case examples as a jumping off point, we will discuss the boundaries of academic freedom and free expression on campus, as they relate to responses from leadership offices, with specific attention to calls for exclusion or removal.

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