On June 10, as thousands of researchers across the world stopped work to protest racism in science, a University of Florida astronomy professor railed against calls for greater diversity in the field, telling his department that he didn’t believe systemic racism existed in academia except for the “pernicious” effects that “identity politics” has on admissions and hiring.
Smith’s message stirred anger within the department at the same time that similar messages were circulating inside the astronomy department of another university, Yale. But unlike the incident at Yale, Smith’s email was immediately and fiercely denounced by virtually all of the University of Florida astronomy faculty. In an email from department chair Elizabeth Lada and signed by other faculty members, Lada stated that they “strongly disagree with the premise of your email.” Systemic bias is well-documented, “regardless of whether any one of us individually experiences it,” the faculty wrote.
Quadry Chance, a Black student who is starting his second year in the PhD program, said he’d like to believe that “all I have to do is be a good scientist and that’s all there is to it.” But Smith’s email “is a sharp reminder that racism is everywhere,” he said. He also said that he had done further research after a graduate student told him he was uninformed about systemic racism. “After looking into it I found out she was right,” he wrote. “The concept of systemic racism isn’t what I originally thought it was — according to what I’ve read it is a sociological theory that is far more malignant in its effects than I even imagined.”
Professor Florida Man
Spent much time in higher ed?
Well he's wrong, so...
I was born in Gainsville. So glad I wasn’t raised in Florida. There are some good decent people in Florida however,the ones who don’t want to evolve and harbor hate in their hearts, they make this state unbearable! This article is stank💩
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