The Case of Michael Levin

Michael Levin and academic freedom have both been in trouble at the City College of New York.

Levin, 45, a professor of Philosophy at CCNY, had an extraordinary experience last October: being formally condemned by his academic colleagues. Being condemned informally is standard fare, I gather, in backbiting academe, but to have the Faculty Senate publicly pronounce your views racist and generally abhorrent—in this case by a lopsided vote of 61 to 3—is not an everyday event. Nor is it usual for tenured professors to be pushed out of their classrooms for their views, however retrograde. Yet Levin was pressured to give up one of his courses, and the president of City College stated that Levin’s prejudiced views make it henceforth inappropriate for him to teach any required courses.

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Daniel Seligman

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Michael Levin and academic freedom have both been in trouble at the City College of New York.

Levin, 45, a professor of Philosophy at CCNY, had an extraordinary experience last October: being formally condemned by his academic colleagues. Being condemned informally is standard fare, I gather, in backbiting academe, but to have the Faculty Senate publicly pronounce your views racist and generally abhorrent—in this case by a lopsided vote of 61 to 3—is not an everyday event. Nor is it usual for tenured professors to be pushed out of their classrooms for their views, however retrograde. Yet Levin was pressured to give up one of his courses, and the president of City College stated that Levin’s prejudiced views make it henceforth inappropriate for him to teach any required courses.