Indiana AAUP condemns Indiana University’s termination of Lecturer Jessica Adams from the IU School of Social Work. This case raises urgent concerns about academic freedom, due process, political interference, and more. Read our full statement: inaaup.wordpress.com/2026/06/15/i...

Universities should be places where people can bring the fullness of their histories, identities, questions, and experiences into shared spaces of learning. Not because diversity is a slogan, but because our differences help us see more clearly, ask better questions, and imagine more just futures.

Thank you to the Indiana Capital Chronicle for covering Jessica Adams’ fight to keep teaching at IU-Bloomington. We continue to call on Indiana University to restore her position and protect faculty from retaliation for legitimate teaching and scholarship. indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/06/11/i...

This @aaup.org piece on Yoel Fink’s Sakharov Prize address is a powerful reminder: academic freedom is a human rights commitment. When scholars are targeted, institutional silence is not neutrality. It is abandonment. academeblog.org/2026/05/28/s... #AcademicFreedom #HumanRights #HigherEd #UARJ

UARJ condemns Indiana University’s termination of Lecturer Jessica Adams. Teaching about white supremacy, social justice, and structural inequity is not misconduct. In social work, it is essential education. Full statement: open.substack.com/pub/uarj/p/u...

We stand with IMAN, local faith leaders, community orgs, & Hoosiers of conscience in calling for a strong & visible response to religious hatred & intolerance. Join the call to action at the Indiana Statehouse this Thursday, June 11, 12–1 PM. Everyone is welcome! secure.ngpvan.com/E365iqr_eU6d...

Calls for “equality” are most comfortable when they ask for access upward to the rooms, ranks, institutions, and privileges already defined by those with power. Racial justice asks a deeper question: equality on whose terms? For higher ed, it goes beyond representation within existing hierarchies.

The fight over higher education is moving from individual campuses to the federal rulebook. AP reports the admin is proposing nationwide changes affecting accreditation, DEI-related policies, grant funding, and civil rights enforcement across thousands of institutions. abcnews.com/US/wireStory...

Scholars are being pushed out of leadership opportunities because of their public advocacy. Susan Ostermann, assoc. prof of global affairs at Notre Dame, declined the directorship of the Liu Institute for Asia & Asian Studies after backlash over her advocacy. www.ndsmcobserver.com/article/2026...

When universities talk about “public trust” but avoid naming political censorship, the story is incomplete. Academic Freedom on the Line challenges higher ed leaders to confront attacks on academic freedom directly, not hide them behind reputation management. open.substack.com/pub/academic...

Attacks on DEI are not new or neutral and the pattern remains: deny inequity, delegitimize the remedy, and frame exclusion as common sense. When DEI is dismantled in higher ed, students, faculty, staff, and communities already fighting for access and representation feel the harm first.

The work of advancing racial justice, protecting academic freedom, strengthening public education, and creating more equitable campuses is often slow. It can be frustrating. It can be imperfect. But lasting change requires persistence. #motivationmonday #highereducation #racialjustice

Timothy Burke captures a dynamic many educators and scholars know well: the burden of teaching, researching, and speaking honestly about racial inequality is too often shifted onto individuals: open.substack.com/pub/timothyb...

In a time when public education is pressured to soften, distort, or avoid honest teaching about race, history, colonialism, antisemitism, white supremacy, democracy, and state violence, we must be clear: academic freedom does not require false balance.

This article names what faculty are already feeling: SEA 202 complaints, sanctions, classroom monitoring, & fear about what can be safely taught. Heather Akou, UARJ cofounder, warns IU’s anonymous complaint process goes beyond the law’s requirements. www.purdueexponent.org/city_state/p...

Today is Primary Election Day in Indiana! @mirrorindy.org's 2026 Election Zine is a clear, community-centered resource that explains what to expect at the polls, what rights voters have, which local offices may appear on the ballot, & more: mirrorindy.org/wp-content/u...

Tomorrow is Primary Election Day in Indiana & every vote carries equal weight regardless of race, wealth, title, zip code, or proximity to power. Democracy requires participation, protection, and the courage to challenge systems that silence us. #IndianaVotes #RacialJustice #HigherEd

We’re excited to share that UARJ now has a home base! We've been building as a coalition since 2022 and it's time to take it to the next level! We have officially launched our website: uarj.org to serve as a central space for our research, writing, and work on racial justice in higher education.

A new analysis of IU, commissioned by the @iubaaup.bsky.social, suggests recent program + job cuts may not be driven by financial necessity. Report shows unrestricted cash grew from $1.4B in 2015 to nearly $2.3B, How are resources being allocated? 🔗 Read more: www.indystar.com/.../study-fi...

A new analysis of IU, commissioned by the @iubaaup.bsky.social, suggests recent program + job cuts may not be driven by financial necessity. Report shows unrestricted cash grew from $1.4B in 2015 to nearly $2.3B, How are resources being allocated? 🔗 Read more: www.indystar.com/.../study-fi...

Post-affirmative action doesn’t mean post–racial justice. Higher ed is navigating: – restricted DEI efforts – stagnant representation – increased political pressure The work didn’t end. It got harder. #HigherEd #RacialJustice

This Princeton RRAPP guide points to 4 shifts for decolonizing universities: redesign curriculum to teach about race and racism, lead with collaboration and reflection, think beyond campus, and value/support the work. Worth a read: rrapp.spia.princeton.edu/how-to-guide...

History is not a parade of exceptional people. It is the story of what happens to people, including the millions regularly left out of the version institutions are most comfortable telling. #motivationmonday

Flashback to 2024: @truthout.org highlighted the danger of a law framed as “intellectual diversity” - but punishes profs who speak honestly about racism. Classrooms across Indiana now feel the weight of 202. truthout.org/articles/ind... #FlashbackFriday #highered #AcademicFreedom #racialjustice

Today, higher-ed groups are challenging a directive that threatens federal contracts over DEI efforts. That is not a debate about buzzwords. It is a warning shot at colleges that still want to confront inequity honestly. www.highereddive.com/news/higher-... #HigherEducation #antiracism

For those looking for places to start with anti-racism, there are new resources emerging. Explore: - Research through an anti-racism lens - Antiracist pedagogy and praxis - The HEART toolkit for embedding anti-racism across institutional systems #HigherEducation #antiracism #AcademicJustice

What we practice becomes what we teach. In classrooms, in policies, systems, and everyday decisions. If inequity is embedded in how institutions operate, it doesn’t stay hidden. It is learned. Repeated. Reinforced. The same is true for justice. #MotivationMonday #HigherEd #EquityInEducation

What we practice becomes what we teach. In classrooms, in policies, systems, and everyday decisions. If inequity is embedded in how institutions operate, it doesn’t stay hidden. It is learned. Repeated. Reinforced. The same is true for justice. #MotivationMonday #HigherEd #EquityInEducation #UARJ

#ThrowbackThursday 2024 w/UARJ founder Russ Skiba, PhD reminding Indiana legislators that absenteeism is not just a K-12 issue. When young people do not have access to the support they need in high school, their opportunities to thrive in college begin to shrink long before graduation.

More than a year later, Dunn Meadow is still a warning. In January of this year, a federal court ruled IU’s 2024 expressive activity policy unconstitutional. Read our original take: uarj.substack.com/p/the-cooley... #RacialJustice #AcademicFreedom #HigherEducation #FreeSpeech

SEA 76 is now law in Indiana & colleges + universities are required to cooperate with immigration enforcement. When fear enters learning spaces, participation changes. And so does who gets to belong. 📖 uarj.substack.com/p/sb-76-marc... #HigherEd #IndianaPolicy #SystemsChange

We cannot dismantle inequity with unchanged thinking, and we cannot shift consciousness without changing the systems that shape it. Both must move together and that’s the work. Join us. #MotivationMonday #UARJ #SystemicChange #HigherEducation #Justice

What happens when research starts to look like risk? Our latest piece draws a line from McCarthyism to today, where suspicion, policy, and higher education collide. “This is how precedent begins.” uarj.substack.com/p/from-red-s...

The case of IU researcher Dr. Xiang raises urgent questions about academic freedom, racialized enforcement, and the role of universities in moments of scrutiny. Read UARJ's full statement: canva.link/nm94tet9ux04...

Thank you LDF!

SB 289: Indiana's anti-DEI law that would prohibit DEI offices or officers across the state, require posting of all DEI materials and impose a $250k fine for violations by any institution. Has passed the state Senate, now moves to the House. uarj.substack.com/p/indianas-a...