Latest news with #AlanShepard
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CNX Releases Updated 2024 Corporate Sustainability Report, Announces Shift to Industry-Leading ESG Reporting
PITTSBURGH, May 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CNX Resources Corporation (NYSE: CNX) today announced the release of its updated Corporate Sustainability Report featuring data for 2024. Additionally, continuing the Company's unprecedented brand of transparency and in a move further differentiating CNX's environmental performance and disclosures, the Company also announced that it will no longer issue a static annual report. Instead, CNX will update its website continuously and its ESG Performance Scorecard data on a quarterly basis. Upcoming quarterly updates will provide stakeholders with fresh data in a more real-time manner on critical environmental, social, and governance (ESG) topics. "While most companies issue sustainability reports just once a year and move on, having checked the annual box, CNX believes that this information should be provided on a more real-time and transparent basis in keeping with our Radical Transparency philosophy. We also believe that ESG metrics should be treated with the same rigor and frequency as financial data," CNX Chief Financial Officer Alan Shepard said. "By making these changes, CNX is empowering shareholders and the communities where it operates with the ability to better track progress and hold the company accountable in real time. Providing access to a dynamic ESG disclosure process underscores CNX's dedication to continuous improvement and Radical Transparency across our business." CNX's reporting is prepared following the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, and integrates ESG priorities into its unique Appalachia First strategic vision. Highlights for 2024 include: Environmental Stewardship: CNX's efforts to protect and improve the environment are revolutionary and unmatched: Radical Transparency – Creating Mutual Trust through Facts and Data: As CNX's novel Radical Transparency program advances across operating areas, results from continuous monitoring by Clean Air Engineering demonstrate CNX site-level emissions are far below nationally-designated air quality standards. Importantly, no sustained levels of asthma-inducing PM2.5 or cancer-causing BTEX have been observed during any phase of development. Within the first year of the Radical Transparency program, hundreds of thousands of datapoints were collected, simultaneously reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and transparently posted on the CNX website. The number of sites equipped with monitoring equipment continues to grow, with active and archived sites contributing to the real-time feed of air data, in addition to water and chemical data. Bold Greenhouse Gas Reductions: Appalachian natural gas boasts the nation's lowest methane intensity of all producing regions, and CNX takes these qualities to the next level through its Emission Reduction Task Force that is continuously innovating to further reduce emissions. CNX reduced methane intensity by nearly 30 percent in its production segment compared to 2023. With a parallel mission to reduce methane in its midstream segment, CNX invested $5 million into new technologies, including switching to electric-driven pumps at the Mamont Compressor Station in Westmoreland County, PA. Pioneering Waste Methane Capture: CNX captured approximately 9.1 million metric tons of waste methane CO₂e. Importantly, the U.S. Treasury recognized the value that captured waste coal mine methane presents as a feedstock for clean hydrogen production in their final tax credit rules (45V). CNX is encouraged by this milestone and remains committed to advocating for opportunities to fully realize the benefits this ultra-low-carbon-intensity fuel source can unlock in the Appalachian region and beyond. Innovation and Partnerships: Last year was another year of differentiation at CNX, advancing oilfield services solutions that provide cost, safety, and environmental efficiencies for the industry. CNX launched the AutoSepSM Technologies (AutoSep) joint venture with Deep Well Services (DWS), which introduced an automated flowback system for the completions process that leverages CNX's technical development capabilities with the service quality standard DWS also reached compressed natural gas (CNG) milestones during 2024, notably completing the first full year of deploying CNG-fueled water-hauling trucks in southwestern Pennsylvania with FORCE Environmental Solutions. By utilizing CNG, these trucks reduce emissions by 30 percent and related operating costs by 50 percent. Water Stewardship: CNX recycled and reused more produced water than it generated by consuming produced water from its peers, minimizing freshwater consumption. In 2024, CNX continued to upgrade and expand its water infrastructure—further reducing the need to transport water via truck in local communities and diversifying freshwater sources to lessen CNX's impact on local water resources. Community and Workforce: Tangible and Local Investments – CNX has a unique commitment to local communities. CNX employees roll up their sleeves and tackle the toughest of issues: Community Engagement – Transparency, Dialogue, and Active Listening: At its core, Radical Transparency is about open-sourcing environmental data. But Radical Transparency also encompasses CNX's openness with stakeholders and local communities, always welcoming questions and seeking feedback. Through a combination of data-driven efforts and community open houses for local residents to directly interact with CNX employees, CNX is learning more about its communities' needs and adapting operations to best fit each operating area's unique characteristics. Community Investments: In 2024, work in Westmoreland County and the Alle-Kiski Valley came into focus as activity shifted to that area. Importantly, the $20 million Kiski Water Line project was completed in June and is better serving CNX's local operations while delivering water resource options for area residents. The water line significantly reduces water trucking and subsequently community impact. The 20" line is expected to serve as the primary alternative to water purchased from the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County (MAWC) during voluntary or mandatory water conservation this growing operational footprint, CNX opened an office in North Apollo, southern Armstrong County, providing access for residents, local businesses, and landowners to the CNX team. With the acquisition of Apex Energy's upstream and midstream assets, this office serves as a central location for new landowners, community members, and other stakeholders in what CNX refers to as its CPA operating to CNX's southern operating area, a new regional headquarters was established in Richlands, Virginia. Serving as the epicenter of CNX mine methane capture operations, the expanded presence enhances CNX's unique opportunities to help meet rapidly expanding energy demand, advance energy security, and create significant new investment and jobs in local communities. Words in Action: Since 2022, CNX's Board has approved an aggregate amount of $5.5 million reduction in CEO pay, including a $1.5 million reduction approved in 2025 to support the expansion of the efforts of the CNX Foundation and its flagship initiative, the CNX Mentorship Academy. Mentorship Academy: Student participation in the CNX Mentorship Academy—now entering its fifth year—increased 44 percent, with 122 students enrolled. The Mentorship Academy includes underserved students representing 28 schools/school districts. More than half of 2024 Mentorship Academy graduates secured full-time employment in a target industry, or a coveted paid internship exclusive to Mentorship Academy graduates in healthcare, building trades, corporate support, or the Short Service Employee Internship in Energy. CNX Foundation: In 2024, CNX Foundation contributed $3.7 million through 144 initiatives aligned with its Tangible, Impactful, Local focus on community support. These efforts are part of CNX's pledge to invest in local initiatives supporting underserved communities within its operational footprint. CNX Foundation principles are also embodied by employees, who volunteered over 3,500 hours in 2024. The Headquarters at CNX: In 2024, three new tenants joined the Headquarters at CNX, bringing capacity to 92 percent and providing workspace to 29 total tenants. The Headquarters at CNX provides world-class workspace at its corporate office to small businesses, including minority- and women-owned businesses, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations, emphasizing support for the same Tangible, Impactful, Local causes in which the CNX Foundation invests. "CNX is defined by a commitment to transparency and a Tangible, Impactful, Local approach to our sustainable business model," CNX Senior Vice President of Compliance and Reporting Hayley Scott said. "By now providing real-time updates to our comprehensive website and quarterly ESG Performance Scorecard, we are delivering insights to our communities, employees, owners, and all stakeholders about the way that we responsibly operate our business and invest in our communities on a day-to-day basis." CNX's ESG Performance Scorecard has limited assurance procedures performed by Keramida, Inc., a WBE-certified global sustainability and EHS services firm, for 2024 and 2023 Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions, air emissions, water, and waste data, while CNX's Internal Audit team has reviewed additional ESG performance metrics, ensuring data integrity. The next quarterly ESG Performance Scorecard update is anticipated for release in August, which will follow the company's release of its financial and operational results for the second quarter of 2025. CNX remains committed to leading the industry with Tangible, Impactful, and Locally focused initiatives, and this new reporting cadence reinforces that commitment through unmatched transparency and accountability. About CNX Resources Corporation CNX Resources Corporation (NYSE: CNX) is unique. We are a premier, ultra-low carbon intensive natural gas development, production, midstream, and technology company centered in Appalachia, one of the most energy abundant regions in the world. With the benefit of a 161-year regional legacy, substantial asset base, leading core operational competencies, technology development and innovation, and astute capital allocation methodologies, we responsibly develop our resources and deploy free cash flow to create long-term per share value for our shareholders, employees, and the communities where we operate. As of December 31, 2024, CNX had 8.54 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves. The company is a member of the Standard & Poor's Midcap 400 Index. Additional information is available at View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE CNX Resources Corporation Sign in to access your portfolio
Associated Press
14-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
CNX Releases Updated 2024 Corporate Sustainability Report, Announces Shift to Industry-Leading ESG Reporting
PITTSBURGH, May 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CNX Resources Corporation (NYSE: CNX) today announced the release of its updated Corporate Sustainability Report featuring data for 2024. Additionally, continuing the Company's unprecedented brand of transparency and in a move further differentiating CNX's environmental performance and disclosures, the Company also announced that it will no longer issue a static annual report. Instead, CNX will update its website continuously and its ESG Performance Scorecard data on a quarterly basis. Upcoming quarterly updates will provide stakeholders with fresh data in a more real-time manner on critical environmental, social, and governance (ESG) topics. 'While most companies issue sustainability reports just once a year and move on, having checked the annual box, CNX believes that this information should be provided on a more real-time and transparent basis in keeping with our Radical Transparency philosophy. We also believe that ESG metrics should be treated with the same rigor and frequency as financial data,' CNX Chief Financial Officer Alan Shepard said. 'By making these changes, CNX is empowering shareholders and the communities where it operates with the ability to better track progress and hold the company accountable in real time. Providing access to a dynamic ESG disclosure process underscores CNX's dedication to continuous improvement and Radical Transparency across our business.' CNX's reporting is prepared following the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, and integrates ESG priorities into its unique Appalachia First strategic vision. Highlights for 2024 include: Environmental Stewardship: CNX's efforts to protect and improve the environment are revolutionary and unmatched: Community and Workforce: Tangible and Local Investments – CNX has a unique commitment to local communities. CNX employees roll up their sleeves and tackle the toughest of issues: 'CNX is defined by a commitment to transparency and a Tangible, Impactful, Local approach to our sustainable business model,' CNX Senior Vice President of Compliance and Reporting Hayley Scott said. 'By now providing real-time updates to our comprehensive website and quarterly ESG Performance Scorecard, we are delivering insights to our communities, employees, owners, and all stakeholders about the way that we responsibly operate our business and invest in our communities on a day-to-day basis.' CNX's ESG Performance Scorecard has limited assurance procedures performed by Keramida, Inc., a WBE-certified global sustainability and EHS services firm, for 2024 and 2023 Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions, air emissions, water, and waste data, while CNX's Internal Audit team has reviewed additional ESG performance metrics, ensuring data integrity. The next quarterly ESG Performance Scorecard update is anticipated for release in August, which will follow the company's release of its financial and operational results for the second quarter of 2025. CNX remains committed to leading the industry with Tangible, Impactful, and Locally focused initiatives, and this new reporting cadence reinforces that commitment through unmatched transparency and accountability. About CNX Resources Corporation CNX Resources Corporation (NYSE: CNX) is unique. We are a premier, ultra-low carbon intensive natural gas development, production, midstream, and technology company centered in Appalachia, one of the most energy abundant regions in the world. With the benefit of a 161-year regional legacy, substantial asset base, leading core operational competencies, technology development and innovation, and astute capital allocation methodologies, we responsibly develop our resources and deploy free cash flow to create long-term per share value for our shareholders, employees, and the communities where we operate. As of December 31, 2024, CNX had 8.54 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves. The company is a member of the Standard & Poor's Midcap 400 Index. Additional information is available at View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE CNX Resources Corporation
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CNX Releases Updated 2024 Corporate Sustainability Report, Announces Shift to Industry-Leading ESG Reporting
PITTSBURGH, May 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CNX Resources Corporation (NYSE: CNX) today announced the release of its updated Corporate Sustainability Report featuring data for 2024. Additionally, continuing the Company's unprecedented brand of transparency and in a move further differentiating CNX's environmental performance and disclosures, the Company also announced that it will no longer issue a static annual report. Instead, CNX will update its website continuously and its ESG Performance Scorecard data on a quarterly basis. Upcoming quarterly updates will provide stakeholders with fresh data in a more real-time manner on critical environmental, social, and governance (ESG) topics. "While most companies issue sustainability reports just once a year and move on, having checked the annual box, CNX believes that this information should be provided on a more real-time and transparent basis in keeping with our Radical Transparency philosophy. We also believe that ESG metrics should be treated with the same rigor and frequency as financial data," CNX Chief Financial Officer Alan Shepard said. "By making these changes, CNX is empowering shareholders and the communities where it operates with the ability to better track progress and hold the company accountable in real time. Providing access to a dynamic ESG disclosure process underscores CNX's dedication to continuous improvement and Radical Transparency across our business." CNX's reporting is prepared following the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, and integrates ESG priorities into its unique Appalachia First strategic vision. Highlights for 2024 include: Environmental Stewardship: CNX's efforts to protect and improve the environment are revolutionary and unmatched: Radical Transparency – Creating Mutual Trust through Facts and Data: As CNX's novel Radical Transparency program advances across operating areas, results from continuous monitoring by Clean Air Engineering demonstrate CNX site-level emissions are far below nationally-designated air quality standards. Importantly, no sustained levels of asthma-inducing PM2.5 or cancer-causing BTEX have been observed during any phase of development. Within the first year of the Radical Transparency program, hundreds of thousands of datapoints were collected, simultaneously reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and transparently posted on the CNX website. The number of sites equipped with monitoring equipment continues to grow, with active and archived sites contributing to the real-time feed of air data, in addition to water and chemical data. Bold Greenhouse Gas Reductions: Appalachian natural gas boasts the nation's lowest methane intensity of all producing regions, and CNX takes these qualities to the next level through its Emission Reduction Task Force that is continuously innovating to further reduce emissions. CNX reduced methane intensity by nearly 30 percent in its production segment compared to 2023. With a parallel mission to reduce methane in its midstream segment, CNX invested $5 million into new technologies, including switching to electric-driven pumps at the Mamont Compressor Station in Westmoreland County, PA. Pioneering Waste Methane Capture: CNX captured approximately 9.1 million metric tons of waste methane CO₂e. Importantly, the U.S. Treasury recognized the value that captured waste coal mine methane presents as a feedstock for clean hydrogen production in their final tax credit rules (45V). CNX is encouraged by this milestone and remains committed to advocating for opportunities to fully realize the benefits this ultra-low-carbon-intensity fuel source can unlock in the Appalachian region and beyond. Innovation and Partnerships: Last year was another year of differentiation at CNX, advancing oilfield services solutions that provide cost, safety, and environmental efficiencies for the industry. CNX launched the AutoSepSM Technologies (AutoSep) joint venture with Deep Well Services (DWS), which introduced an automated flowback system for the completions process that leverages CNX's technical development capabilities with the service quality standard DWS also reached compressed natural gas (CNG) milestones during 2024, notably completing the first full year of deploying CNG-fueled water-hauling trucks in southwestern Pennsylvania with FORCE Environmental Solutions. By utilizing CNG, these trucks reduce emissions by 30 percent and related operating costs by 50 percent. Water Stewardship: CNX recycled and reused more produced water than it generated by consuming produced water from its peers, minimizing freshwater consumption. In 2024, CNX continued to upgrade and expand its water infrastructure—further reducing the need to transport water via truck in local communities and diversifying freshwater sources to lessen CNX's impact on local water resources. Community and Workforce: Tangible and Local Investments – CNX has a unique commitment to local communities. CNX employees roll up their sleeves and tackle the toughest of issues: Community Engagement – Transparency, Dialogue, and Active Listening: At its core, Radical Transparency is about open-sourcing environmental data. But Radical Transparency also encompasses CNX's openness with stakeholders and local communities, always welcoming questions and seeking feedback. Through a combination of data-driven efforts and community open houses for local residents to directly interact with CNX employees, CNX is learning more about its communities' needs and adapting operations to best fit each operating area's unique characteristics. Community Investments: In 2024, work in Westmoreland County and the Alle-Kiski Valley came into focus as activity shifted to that area. Importantly, the $20 million Kiski Water Line project was completed in June and is better serving CNX's local operations while delivering water resource options for area residents. The water line significantly reduces water trucking and subsequently community impact. The 20" line is expected to serve as the primary alternative to water purchased from the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County (MAWC) during voluntary or mandatory water conservation this growing operational footprint, CNX opened an office in North Apollo, southern Armstrong County, providing access for residents, local businesses, and landowners to the CNX team. With the acquisition of Apex Energy's upstream and midstream assets, this office serves as a central location for new landowners, community members, and other stakeholders in what CNX refers to as its CPA operating to CNX's southern operating area, a new regional headquarters was established in Richlands, Virginia. Serving as the epicenter of CNX mine methane capture operations, the expanded presence enhances CNX's unique opportunities to help meet rapidly expanding energy demand, advance energy security, and create significant new investment and jobs in local communities. Words in Action: Since 2022, CNX's Board has approved an aggregate amount of $5.5 million reduction in CEO pay, including a $1.5 million reduction approved in 2025 to support the expansion of the efforts of the CNX Foundation and its flagship initiative, the CNX Mentorship Academy. Mentorship Academy: Student participation in the CNX Mentorship Academy—now entering its fifth year—increased 44 percent, with 122 students enrolled. The Mentorship Academy includes underserved students representing 28 schools/school districts. More than half of 2024 Mentorship Academy graduates secured full-time employment in a target industry, or a coveted paid internship exclusive to Mentorship Academy graduates in healthcare, building trades, corporate support, or the Short Service Employee Internship in Energy. CNX Foundation: In 2024, CNX Foundation contributed $3.7 million through 144 initiatives aligned with its Tangible, Impactful, Local focus on community support. These efforts are part of CNX's pledge to invest in local initiatives supporting underserved communities within its operational footprint. CNX Foundation principles are also embodied by employees, who volunteered over 3,500 hours in 2024. The Headquarters at CNX: In 2024, three new tenants joined the Headquarters at CNX, bringing capacity to 92 percent and providing workspace to 29 total tenants. The Headquarters at CNX provides world-class workspace at its corporate office to small businesses, including minority- and women-owned businesses, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations, emphasizing support for the same Tangible, Impactful, Local causes in which the CNX Foundation invests. "CNX is defined by a commitment to transparency and a Tangible, Impactful, Local approach to our sustainable business model," CNX Senior Vice President of Compliance and Reporting Hayley Scott said. "By now providing real-time updates to our comprehensive website and quarterly ESG Performance Scorecard, we are delivering insights to our communities, employees, owners, and all stakeholders about the way that we responsibly operate our business and invest in our communities on a day-to-day basis." CNX's ESG Performance Scorecard has limited assurance procedures performed by Keramida, Inc., a WBE-certified global sustainability and EHS services firm, for 2024 and 2023 Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions, air emissions, water, and waste data, while CNX's Internal Audit team has reviewed additional ESG performance metrics, ensuring data integrity. The next quarterly ESG Performance Scorecard update is anticipated for release in August, which will follow the company's release of its financial and operational results for the second quarter of 2025. CNX remains committed to leading the industry with Tangible, Impactful, and Locally focused initiatives, and this new reporting cadence reinforces that commitment through unmatched transparency and accountability. About CNX Resources Corporation CNX Resources Corporation (NYSE: CNX) is unique. We are a premier, ultra-low carbon intensive natural gas development, production, midstream, and technology company centered in Appalachia, one of the most energy abundant regions in the world. With the benefit of a 161-year regional legacy, substantial asset base, leading core operational competencies, technology development and innovation, and astute capital allocation methodologies, we responsibly develop our resources and deploy free cash flow to create long-term per share value for our shareholders, employees, and the communities where we operate. As of December 31, 2024, CNX had 8.54 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves. The company is a member of the Standard & Poor's Midcap 400 Index. Additional information is available at View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE CNX Resources Corporation Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion - Crimson chide: Harvard makes the case against itself
Harvard faculty members are finally upset about free speech and viewpoint intolerance. Hundreds of professors signed a letter of outrage over what they called an attack on the 'rights of free expression, association, and inquiry' in higher education. The cause for this outcry is the threat to end the university's tax exempt status, freezing federal grants, and other punitive measures. Some of those measures raise serious concerns over academic freedom and free speech. The problem is that Harvard faculty members have spent decades denying those rights to teachers and students alike. There is an almost comical lack of self-awareness among Harvard faculty members who express concern about protecting viewpoint diversity and academic integrity. The letter gives off that same queasy feeling as when CBS morning host Gayle King insisted she is an astronaut, just like Alan Shepard, due to her 10-minute jaunt in space on the Blue Origin. One is just left speechless, looking awkwardly at one's shoes. Many of these signatories have been entirely silent for years as departments purged their ranks of conservatives to create one of the most perfectly sealed-off echo chambers in all of higher education. Harvard ranks dead last for free speech, awarded a 0 out of 100 score last year by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. There has been no outcry about this from most of these professors. There has long been a culture of intolerance at Harvard. Just last month, Harvard Professor Timothy McCarthy called upon the university to fire any any faculty who do not support the use of 'gender-affirming care' on children. Just last year, the president of Harvard University's Institute of Politics called for the the express abandonment of nonpartisanship as a touchstone of the institute after President Trump's second election. Dean of Social Science Lawrence Bobo recently rejected the notion of free speech as a 'blank check' and said that criticizing university leaders like himself or school policies is now viewed as 'outside the bounds of acceptable professional conduct.' The Trump Administration is right to focus on Harvard as an example of all that is wrong with higher education today. Like most universities, Harvard's faculty runs from the left to the far left. For years, the university has been criticized for extreme ideological bias in hiring and admissions. The faculty merely harrumphed. After all, this is Harvard. Consider the numbers. In a country with a plurality of conservative voters in the last election, less than 9 percent of the Harvard student body is conservative. Less than 3 percent of the faculty identified as conservative. That is more than an academic echo chamber. It is an academic sensory deprivation tank. Harvard faculty have purged conservative faculty for years and created one of the most hostile environments for free speech in all of higher education. Even with the virtual absence of conservative faculty and an overwhelmingly liberal class, only 33 percent of graduating students feel comfortable speaking their minds freely at Harvard. In a recent debate at Harvard Law School, I debated the respected Professor Randall Kennedy on the lack of ideological diversity at Harvard. I do not consider Kennedy anti-free speech or intolerant. Yet during the debate, I noted the statistics on the vanishing number of conservative students and faculty at Harvard in a country divided quite evenly politically. Kennedy responded that Harvard 'is an elite university' and does not have to 'look like America.' The problem is that Harvard does not even look like Massachusetts, which is nearly 30 percent Republican. At the law school, only a tiny number of faculty members agree with the views of the majority of the Supreme Court and roughly half of the federal judiciary. For the record, I have criticized the threat of removing Harvard's tax-exempt status and other measures that threaten free speech. However, as I discuss in my book 'The Indispensable Right,' there are ways to force greater diversity without curtailing academic freedom. That includes federal and state governments withholding government funding from these schools until there is greater diversity and tolerance on campuses. For years, these administrators and professors have shown an abundance of arrogance and a paucity of concern over free speech. They showed little concern for how they were damaging this historic institution. In just one generation, higher education is in a free fall across the country as professors pursued ideological over institutional interests. If universities were conventional corporations, virtually every university president and board in the country would be removed for violation of their fiduciary duties. But there is no such fiduciary obligation in education. Liberal presidents, boards, and faculty have eliminated most dissenting voices to their agendas. Indeed, many Harvard faculty would sooner bulldoze every building to the ground than restore true ideological diversity to their departments or abandon biased hiring and admissions. Harvard spent millions fighting to defend their use of race in admissions — including discrimination against Asians in a shockingly demeaning and dehumanizing manner — until it lost before the Supreme Court in 2023. In the meantime, the university has been forced to introduce remedial, high-school-level math courses for its students due to falling scholastic standards. Of course, none of that history is mentioned in the letter. Instead, one signatory to the Harvard letter, Kennedy School professor Archon Fung, explained that 'It is a very predictable pattern that authoritarian governments go after two institutions first, which is the media and universities.' It was a telling argument. Much like academia, journalism schools abandoned objectivity and neutrality in favor of advocacy journalism. As a result, revenue and readers are plunging as citizens turn away from the mainstream echo chamber in favor of new and independent media. Fung further argued, 'We're one of the two or three pillars that are really, really important for free discussion and inquiry in a democratic society, which is the beating heart of a democracy.' It is precisely the free discussion and inquiry that Harvard, in maintaining its orthodox culture, has denied to conservatives and libertarians. When it comes to the unjustifiable cancellation of its tax-exempt status, many of us will continue to argue for moderation in dealing with Harvard. The last thing we need in this debate is the help of the Harvard faculty. Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University and the author of 'The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
19-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Crimson chide: Harvard makes the case against itself
Harvard faculty members are finally upset about free speech and viewpoint intolerance. Hundreds of professors signed a letter of outrage over what they called an attack on the 'rights of free expression, association, and inquiry' in higher education. The cause for this outcry is the threat to end the university's tax exempt status, freezing federal grants, and other punitive measures. Some of those measures raise serious concerns over academic freedom and free speech. The problem is that Harvard faculty members have spent decades denying those rights to teachers and students alike. There is an almost comical lack of self-awareness among Harvard faculty members who express concern about protecting viewpoint diversity and academic integrity. The letter gives off that same queasy feeling as when CBS morning host Gayle King insisted she is an astronaut, just like Alan Shepard, due to her 10-minute jaunt in space on the Blue Origin. One is just left speechless, looking awkwardly at one's shoes. Many of these signatories have been entirely silent for years as departments purged their ranks of conservatives to create one of the most perfectly sealed-off echo chambers in all of higher education. Harvard ranks dead last for free speech, awarded a 0 out of 100 score last year by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. There has been no outcry about this from most of these professors. There has long been a culture of intolerance at Harvard. Just last month, Harvard Professor Timothy McCarthy called upon the university to fire any any faculty who do not support the use of 'gender-affirming care' on children. Just last year, the president of Harvard University's Institute of Politics called for the the express abandonment of nonpartisanship as a touchstone of the institute after President Trump's second election. Dean of Social Science Lawrence Bobo recently rejected the notion of free speech as a 'blank check' and said that criticizing university leaders like himself or school policies is now viewed as 'outside the bounds of acceptable professional conduct.' The Trump Administration is right to focus on Harvard as an example of all that is wrong with higher education today. Like most universities, Harvard's faculty runs from the left to the far left. For years, the university has been criticized for extreme ideological bias in hiring and admissions. The faculty merely harrumphed. After all, this is Harvard. Consider the numbers. In a country with a plurality of conservative voters in the last election, less than 9 percent of the Harvard student body is conservative. Less than 3 percent of the faculty identified as conservative. That is more than an academic echo chamber. It is an academic sensory deprivation tank. Harvard faculty have purged conservative faculty for years and created one of the most hostile environments for free speech in all of higher education. Even with the virtual absence of conservative faculty and an overwhelmingly liberal class, only 33 percent of graduating students feel comfortable speaking their minds freely at Harvard. In a recent debate at Harvard Law School, I debated the respected Professor Randall Kennedy on the lack of ideological diversity at Harvard. I do not consider Kennedy anti-free speech or intolerant. Yet during the debate, I noted the statistics on the vanishing number of conservative students and faculty at Harvard in a country divided quite evenly politically. Kennedy responded that Harvard 'is an elite university' and does not have to 'look like America.' The problem is that Harvard does not even look like Massachusetts, which is nearly 30 percent Republican. At the law school, only a tiny number of faculty members agree with the views of the majority of the Supreme Court and roughly half of the federal judiciary. For the record, I have criticized the threat of removing Harvard's tax-exempt status and other measures that threaten free speech. However, as I discuss in my book ' The Indispensable Right,' there are ways to force greater diversity without curtailing academic freedom. That includes federal and state governments withholding government funding from these schools until there is greater diversity and tolerance on campuses. For years, these administrators and professors have shown an abundance of arrogance and a paucity of concern over free speech. They showed little concern for how they were damaging this historic institution. In just one generation, higher education is in a free fall across the country as professors pursued ideological over institutional interests. If universities were conventional corporations, virtually every university president and board in the country would be removed for violation of their fiduciary duties. But there is no such fiduciary obligation in education. Liberal presidents, boards, and faculty have eliminated most dissenting voices to their agendas. Indeed, many Harvard faculty would sooner bulldoze every building to the ground than restore true ideological diversity to their departments or abandon biased hiring and admissions. Harvard spent millions fighting to defend their use of race in admissions — including discrimination against Asians in a shockingly demeaning and dehumanizing manner — until it lost before the Supreme Court in 2023. In the meantime, the university has been forced to introduce remedial, high-school-level math courses for its students due to falling scholastic standards. Of course, none of that history is mentioned in the letter. Instead, one signatory to the Harvard letter, Kennedy School professor Archon Fung, explained that 'It is a very predictable pattern that authoritarian governments go after two institutions first, which is the media and universities.' It was a telling argument. Much like academia, journalism schools abandoned objectivity and neutrality in favor of advocacy journalism. As a result, revenue and readers are plunging as citizens turn away from the mainstream echo chamber in favor of new and independent media. Fung further argued, 'We're one of the two or three pillars that are really, really important for free discussion and inquiry in a democratic society, which is the beating heart of a democracy.' It is precisely the free discussion and inquiry that Harvard, in maintaining its orthodox culture, has denied to conservatives and libertarians. When it comes to the unjustifiable cancellation of its tax-exempt status, many of us will continue to argue for moderation in dealing with Harvard. The last thing we need in this debate is the help of the Harvard faculty.
