Associate Provost on Coordinated Attack on Academic Freedom

"Together with co-authors and editors Jennifer Ruth, a film professor at Portland State University, and Ellen Schrecker, a professor emerita of American history at Yeshiva University, Johnson wrote The Right to Learn: Resisting the Right-Wing Attack on Academic Freedom ( Beacon Press, 2024). In October, the book was granted the American Association of Colleges and Universities' Frederic W. Ness Book Award, an annual honor that highlights the "book that best illuminates the goals and practices of a contemporary liberal education.""

"The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Q: What prompted you to write this book? Was there a specific moment when the scope of this campaign against academic freedom that you describe became unmistakable for you? A: Yes, it was the summer of 2021. A friend of mine was working with the African American Policy Forum, and they wanted to sound the alert that we were seeing a rollback of rights."

Valerie Johnson is a political scientist and associate provost of diversity, equity and inclusion at DePaul University who has tracked and resisted political attacks on academic freedom. Conservative political incentives have driven efforts to control what professors can teach, speak about and research. The Trump administration and state governments in Florida and Texas have led rapid, effective rollbacks and gag orders. Johnson collaborated with Jennifer Ruth and Ellen Schrecker on The Right to Learn, which received the Frederic W. Ness Book Award. The summer of 2021 marked a turning point as organizations alerted faculty to a rollback of rights and coordinated faculty senate responses.

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