Ava Weinreis
Since Saturday, the University of Minnesota has taken down 11 statements from various departments regarding the Israel-Palestine and Russia-Ukraine conflicts.
College of Liberal Arts Dean GerShun Avilez held an emergency meeting with chairs of five CLA departments on Saturday afternoon, where he announced that statements regarding the Israel-Palestine war would be taken down effective immediately. Over the weekend, seven departments saw statements taken down that addressed this conflict.
Provost Rachel Croson said in an email to faculty on Tuesday the decision to remove the statements was made following feedback from an advisory board composed of four faculty members.
“The group’s focus is on understanding the Regents’ resolution and advising the provost in which institutional statements on University-designated websites or other media do or do not align with the institutional stance, or lack of stance, on an issue,” Croson said in the statement. “For example the University does not currently have a position on the conflict in the Middle East, or the war in the Ukraine.”
In March 2022, the University’s administration released a statement openly denouncing Russia’s role in the Russia-Ukraine war and announcing that they had divested from Russian-related investments.
The University began taking down departmental statements regarding the conflict Monday afternoon.