This is another post related to the non-rehiring of Jeffrey Nielsen by BYU. Today I saw a letter to the editor in the Salt Lake Tribune that said:
BYU wants the prestige of being recognized as a university, yet it wants nothing of the hard work involved in coming to terms with different ideas. BYU has been censured since 1998 by the American Association of University Professors for failing to respect academic freedom. Perhaps it should be called the Brigham Young Academy of Indoctrination.
BYU is getting a bum rap in this. It’s not a question of challenging your superiors, it’s a question of Dr. Nielsen’s judgment in what he wrote (see my previous post on this). In fact, Biology professor William Bradshaw has done extensive research into the biological factors affecting homosexuality and has never been punished.
It’s not a question of academic freedom, but a question of judgment.
