Awarded to individuals who have shown consistent courage in pursuing truth despite social and professional costs.
Many professors who are conservative, libertarian, or who
otherwise hold views that challenge the prevailing institutional ethos
attempt to conceal their ideological leanings. They often avoid work on
controversial topics to minimize the risk of drawing the ire of students
or colleagues.
In contrast, Dr. Abrams has virtually always been “out” as a
Republican. Rather than avoiding contentious topics, he works in
political science – and has been particularly influential in his
critiques of orthodoxies surrounding polarization.
He introduces his students to a gamut of political and
ideological perspectives in the classroom. A founding member of
Heterodox Academy, Dr. Abrams also regularly engages the public on the
need for viewpoint diversity, open inquiry and constructive disagreement
within institutions of higher learning.
In October 2018, he published an essay in the New York
Times about the severe political imbalance among university
administrators (which is even larger than the left skew among
professors). In order to illustrate how this political homogeneity plays
out ‘on the ground,’ Dr. Abrams cited some examples of programming at
his own college, Sarah Lawrence.
In response, a contingent of students at his school – egged
on by certain faculty and administrators – called for Dr. Abrams to be
ousted from his post. In addition to demonstrations, his office was
vandalized. There were harassment and intimidation campaigns. University
leadership initially neglected to condemn these acts, and instead
aligned themselves with the protestors – insinuating that Dr. Abrams had
done something wrong in conducting his research or publishing his
op-ed. His university president privately suggested to him that he
should seek out alternative employment. Responding to these
institutional signals, student activists have continued their
agitations, recently demanding that Dr. Abrams’ tenure be put up for
review.
Regrettably, Dr. Abrams is far from alone in facing
retaliation for research or public-facing work that challenges someone’s
deeply-held views. What sets Dr. Abrams apart is how he has chosen to
respond to his situation. Many who have found themselves in similar
circumstances chose to exit the academy. The experience of colleagues,
students and university leadership turning against you, or failing to
support you, can lead to deep resentment, which can curdle into
reactionary politics – leading some who have been on the receiving end
of these campaigns to subsequently bash students, professors,
administrators, the left, and even the academic enterprise more broadly –
and to align themselves with others who do the same.
Dr. Abrams, however, refuses simply disappear, or to cede
his institution to opponents of open inquiry and viewpoint diversity.
Nor does he allow illiberal actors define the academy – neither for
himself nor the public. Instead, Dr. Abrams remains as committed as ever
to highlighting positive developments, identifying exemplars, and
formulating constructive and data-driven approaches to the challenges
universities face. Responding to unjust treatment with this kind of
grace requires a level of courage and moral conviction that we
desperately need more of within institutions of higher learning – and
indeed our society more broadly.
Selected media publications and scholarly essays by Samuel Abrams can be found here.
