Vermillion, S.D. (MITCHELLNOW)

The University of South Dakota threatened to fire staff members in what some see as an ongoing attack on academic freedom, according to reporting in The Daily Yonder. Two university administrators said they were told they’d be dismissed if they didn’t comply with a new state rule banning the use of tribal affiliations and gender pronouns in staff email signatures. This follows a 2022 state law limiting universities’ use of training and funding for what it calls “divisive concepts,” including race, religion and sex. It’s one of over 150 bills brought to state legislatures aimed at academic freedom and university governance, according to new research. Author Isaac Kamola says academic freedom is vital for higher education to serve the public interest.

Opponents of initiatives around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion or “D-E-I” say they lead to fear and resentment. But Kamola says limiting email signatures is among several trending threats to higher education, including banning critical race theory, weakening tenure or accreditation, and mandating content.

The University of South Dakota’s student senate passed a resolution against the policy. Kamola calls the new rule “actively hostile.”

John Little is the director of Native recruitment at the university, and one of the staff members who says his job was threatened. In a statement on the social media platform ‘X,’ Little wrote he still includes his tribal affiliations and gender pronouns in the body of his emails.