E-mails reveal censorship efforts by Mitch Daniels as Indiana governor
Mitch Daniels
( Jose Luis Magana – AP)
( Jose Luis Magana – AP)
Mitch Daniels, the new president of Purdue University and the former two-term governor of Indiana, has some explaining to do. When he was governor, the AP reports, he quietly pushed to remove books and courses that he considered to be too liberal, action not well received in the academic world in which he now works.
Citing e-mails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, The Associated Press’s Tom LoBianco reported in this story that Daniels wanted the writings of the liberal Howard Zinn, an anti-war activist and historian, to be banned from schools. He also suggested that funding for a program run by a professor who had criticized him be withdrawn, and sought what he termed a “cleanup” of courses being taught at colleges training teachers, the AP said.
Daniels was governor from 2005-2013 and became president of Purdue in January over the objections of some professors who feared that he was not a big believer in academic freedom. He has in the months since he went to Purdue repeatedly spoken out about its importance. The Board of Trustees that appointed him is made up largely of people he