A U.S. House subcommittee opened an investigation Thursday into whether the University of Florida interfered with academic freedom and free speech when it stopped three professors from testifying as experts in a lawsuit challenging Florida’s election law, before reversing course.
Members of the House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties sent a letter to UF President Kent Fuchs requesting documents and communications regarding the creation of the school’s conflicts-of-interest policy and its denials of faculty requests to engage in outside activities.
“We are concerned that UF is censoring its faculty based on viewpoint, which would set a dangerous precedent that flies in the face of its own commitment to freedom of expression,” the letter said.
