A Kelley School of Business professor’s “sexist, racist and homophobic views” won’t get him fired from Indiana University after a series of controversial tweets surfaced this week, according to an Indiana University official.
Eric Rasmusen is a professor of business economics and public policy. On Nov. 7, he shared an article titled, “Are Women Destroying Academia? Probably,” on his personal Twitter account. He quoted a line from the story, writing, “geniuses are overwhelmingly male because they combine outlier high IQ with moderately low agreeableness and moderately low conscientiousness.”
On Tuesday, Twitter users started reacting.
“Ok boomer this is a bruh moment,” wrote one user. “Genuinely hope this gets you fired bro,” wrote another. “You should not be working in education.”
A Twitter account called SheRatesDogs, with almost 450,000 followers, shared a screenshot of the tweet, along with a direct message from a user who submitted it to the account. SheRatesDogs routinely shares (mostly) anonymous screenshots of men behaving badly on dating apps and social media.
IU alumna Maggie Hopkins worked with Rasmusen on last year’s Bloomington Faculty Council. She quoted his tweet, writing, “This article suggests there should be far fewer women at universities. I am deeply offended by this tweet, and my ability to feel that offense does not diminish my intellect.”
Rasmusen responded several hours later, calling her response an “anti-intellectual argument.”
“I am not responsible for your difficulty in listening to opposing views,” he wrote. “What do you think about agreeability, conscientiousness, and genius?”
Hopkins says she hoped her tweet would reach the IU community.
“I think younger Maggie, younger me, would have taken it very personally, to have a successful academic say that I have a difficulty listening to other people,” she says. “And it was a really cool feeling to recognize – I’m not a little girl anymore. I know full well that I can listen to other people’s opinions. This is not a ‘me’ problem.”
Hopkins says she appreciated the university’s response, which included statements issued by IU Provost Lauren Robel and Kelley School Dean Idie Kesner.
Robel wrote that Rasmusen has long used social media as a tool to spread his “stunningly ignorant” views about “pernicious and false stereotypes.”
“When I label his views in this way, let me note that the labels are not a close call, nor do his posts require careful parsing to reach these conclusions,” she wrote.
Robel referenced the SheRatesDogs account, and noted that the university had received many requests for Rasmusen to be fired for his online activity. However, she wrote, the university cannot and will not fire him for his “vile and stupid” posts because of his freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment.
Robel recognized that some students might be concerned that Rasmusen’s “expressed biases would infect his perceptions of their work.”
According to her statement, the Kelley School will not force students to take Rasmusen’s courses and will provide alternatives. It also says that Rasmusen must use double-blind grading on assignments and, in cases where double-blind grading cannot be used, another faculty member will ensure that there is no bias.
Kesner’s statement echoed many of Robels’ sentiments.
“The leadership of the Kelley School stands united in condemning the bias and disrespect displayed by this professor; we find his sexist, racist, and homophobic views abhorrent,” Kesner wrote.
She wrote that the Kelley School will implement “procedural mechanisms” to ensure that Rasmusen’s biases don’t negatively impact students and that it will evaluate Rasmusen’s courses for the presence of bias.
In a Wednesday afternoon email in response to a request for comment, Rasmusen wrote that he has met with Kesner.
“We told each other how disappointed we are in each other,” he wrote. “To show students that they need not fear bias in grading, the university is condemning a dissident professor, requiring him to use blind grading, and allowing students to opt out of his class. This, it is claimed, will make students relaxed and feel able to express their political views without fear of retribution. Having seen the university crack down on the one outspoken conservative professor, students will feel more comfortable in expressing their views while at Indiana University--- that is, they will know what to expect if they speak freely in the classes of the 999 liberal professors. Of course, IU is not discouraging bias, but encouraging it, even requiring it, as a condition of teaching. There are views you're not supposed to express, even outside of class, and heaven help the student whose professor checks his twitter account before issuing grades.”
This is not Rasmusen’s first online kerfuffle.
In 2003, IU faced backlash after Rasmusen used a blog hosted on the university’s server to post anti-LGBTQ sentiments.
According to a September 2003 Chicago Tribune article, Rasmusen wrote, "Male homosexuals, at least, like boys and are generally promiscuous. They should not be given the opportunity to satisfy their desires."
Then, too, people called for Rasmusen’s firing. And then, too, university officials condemned his sentiments but affirmed his right to express them.
Rasmusen has worked for IU in several different capacities since 1992.