Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita drew criticism for baseless attacks on Dr. Bernard's professionalism.
(Alan Mbathi/IPB News)
The IU Bloomington chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) passed a resolution on Monday condemning Attorney General Todd Rokita’s attacks on Dr. Caitlin Bernard.
The chapter also called on senior IU administration to defend Bernard against Rokita’s actions, which they called baseless and damaging. Bernard drew national attention for performing an abortion for a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio.
Benjamin Robinson, president of the chapter and associate professor of Germanic studies, said the chapter felt that the university, specifically President Whitten and IU School of Medicine Dean Jay Hess, haven’t stood up to publicly defend Barnard.
“We understand that that's the job of the administration of the university to defend its mission, to defend the freedom of its faculty,” Robinson said, “And we see that crucial to President Whitten and Dean Hess’s responsibilities.”
Robinson said the organization felt that the attorney general’s use of his office, and its power, to make baseless threats against Bernard's reputation and to initiate the investigation was an attack on academic freedom.
“We felt as an organization we had to respond to that attack,” Robinson said. “That’s our job, to defend academic freedom where we understand it to be under threat.”
Robinson said the chapter believes that IU leadership should make their defense of Bernard public.
Jeffrey C. Isaac, a professor of political science at IU, drafted the chapter's resolution. Isaac said he was motivated to speak publicly because of his belief that the attack on reproductive freedom is a danger not only to women's rights, but to liberal democracy and civic equality.
And as a member of IU’s faculty, Isaac said he found the administration's lack of a statement in support of Barnard disgraceful.
“If someone like Attorney General Todd Rokita can speak out and vilify her and investigate her in this way,” Isaac said, “then I think this poses a threat to academic freedom in general.”
Isaac said he thinks the purpose of the resolution was to not only get the attention of IU’s administration but also that of the IU board of trustees, people in Indiana and beyond.
“Joe Biden is talking about this, the president United States,” Isaac said. “And IU can't say anything is really shocking, disturbing, and people ought to know that this isn't good for the university, and that there are a lot of people here who are serious, even if the administration is not.”
An institution like IU, Isaac said, should stand for certain public values beyond partisanship and should articulate those values publicly.
"The way that the administration is handling this issue is embarrassing,” Isaac said, “And it's not a source of pride for anyone, and I think it's going to deter certain people from wanting to come here.”
Robinson said when the AAUP sent the resolution to senior IU leadership, it also asked for a response as to why there hasn’t been an effective response and to explain when and how the administration would issue that response.
“We want to see our colleagues, our peers, the respected members of our community, defended by those whose job it is to defend the mission of IU,” Robinson said.
Having that public statement, Robinson said, is the association's top goal.
