by A science professor leaving the University of Alabama is sounding the alarm about colleges’ “obsession” with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and believes his career may be over as a result.
dr Matthew Wielicki, whose Twitter thread about his imminent departure went viral, spoke on “Fox & Friends First” on Wednesday to discuss how the university’s equity boost influenced his decision to leave the university and how climate alarmism is fueling young students harms.
“Every decision in academia is framed in this lens of diversity, equity and inclusion, whether it’s enrolling students in scholarship funding,” Wielicki said. “It’s the exact opposite of what Dr. Martin Luther King, whom we celebrated last week, meant when he spoke about judging people by their character. And we don’t do that anymore in science.”
BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY BEATS PROFESSORS’ PROGRESSIVE STACKING SECTION OF NON-WHITE CURRICULUM
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA – October 22, 2010: Sign for the University of Alabama on the front of the College of Nursing building. This building was recently constructed on the southeast corner of the campus in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (USA).
Wielicki, a Polish immigrant and Professor of Geosciencessaid that while his decision to quit his role was largely personal, the “rise of illiberalism” in his profession made the choice “easier”.
“The results of this [minority] The students don’t get better. This has become the type of universities that try to signal their virtue through the number of minority students they have, without really caring if those students succeed when they graduate from those universities. And I think that’s the opposite of what we should be thinking about when we’re teaching our students.”
In addition, Wielicki said the “false climate emergency” has implications for young people’s mental health.
“I see that this constant catastrophe robs their ambition,” he warned. “Several students came up to me and told me that they no longer plan to start a family because they don’t think it would be a smart idea to raise children in this world because the planet is going to end. This is exactly the opposite of how we would motivate young people to be good stewards of the environment and look to their future and take responsibility and make sacrifices now so they can have a better future.”
Wielicki, who describes himself as a “classic liberal,” said he wasn’t sure there was a place for him and his ilk in the university system.
“I realized that speaking out about things like climate and DEI was career suicide,” he said. “I’m hoping that a few more people like me going through this will allow more discussion … just asking questions, having discussions makes you a heretic now, it makes you someone to be ostracized.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to the University of Alabama for comment but received no response. The University of Alabama is a public research university with over 38,000 students.
Recently, Fox News Digital found that top Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) staff at major public universities earn massive six-figure salaries for leadership initiatives that some experts deemed ineffective, instead enforcing “political orthodoxy.”
Fox News’ Joshua Nelson contributed to this report
