The University’s outgoing vice provost for academic affairs, who oversaw adherence to the Kalven Report, was on the committee behind a new report that some faculty have viewed as antithetical to institutional neutrality.
The vote reportedly will not take place until next academic year amid concerns from faculty that the proposal for the new division lacked sufficient detail.
Lab Interim Director Ethan Bueno de Mesquita cited the University’s position on institutional neutrality as a reason for the change and denied any connection to the Lab Schools’ new viewpoint-neutral education principles.
Faculty and staff will gain access in July, and students will gain access before the start of the 2026–27 academic year, President Alivisatos wrote in an email Tuesday.
Hitik spoke to the Maroon about threats to free speech on campus and the importance of preserving what she called UChicago’s “culture of free expression.”
Over the past decade, the share of students majoring in the humanities and arts has declined while business economics has exploded—realizing long-standing fears about the pre-professionalization of the College.
UChicago’s partnership with the Massachusetts research institution—which will end next month after 13 years—offered valuable opportunities for students and faculty but cost the University over $100 million.
The journalist and UChicago alum spoke with the Maroon about reporting on last fall’s federal immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, interacting with federal agents as a member of the press, and remaining objective in reporting.
Members of the American Association of University Professors gathered on Friday to protest the Laboratory Schools’s adoption of a policy calling for “viewpoint neutrality” in the classroom, which critics say will suppress academic expression and open inquiry.
Support Us
$4,060
$5,000
Contributed
Our Goal
Your support will ensure that we can continue producing powerful, honest, and accessible reporting that serves the University of Chicago and Hyde Park communities.
