Indiana University Condemns Professor’s Controversial Tweets; Professor Says School “Overreacted”

By Emma Atkinson, IPB News | Published on in Education, Statewide News
Kelley School of Business professor Eric Rasmusen. (Courtesy of Indiana University)

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.”

How Twitter Reacted

“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.

Indiana University Responds

IU Executive Vice President and Provost Lauren Robel issued a statement Wednesday about Kelley School of Business professor Eric Rasmusen’s tweets disparaging women in academia, calling his views “racist, sexist and homophobic.” Robel noted that although she found his opinions “vile and stupid,” the University could not and would not fire him for espousing them.

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.

Rasmusen Calls It a “Twitter Kerfluffle”

Rasmusen updated his personal website Thursday to include his official statement to the press as well as a response to Robel’s news release.

On the site, Rasmusen writes that Robel and Kelley School Dean Idie Kesner “overreacted” to what he calls a “Twitter kerfuffle.”

In his response to Robel, he writes, “I opposed admitting people to universities based on their race; I open doors for ladies; I say that sodomy is a sin. I am sure that is enough to qualify me for those insults under the Provost’s personal definitions.”

Robel wrote that Rasmusen “has used slurs in his posts about women.” In response, Rasmusen writes that Robel is probably referencing a Nov. 8 tweet in which he calls FBI lawyer Lisa Page a “slut.”

“Is “slut” a slur against women? Not at all,” he writes. “It is a slur against certain women, against a minority of women, and for them it is a justified slur, a descriptive one. A woman who sleeps with 100 men in a year is a slut. Whether her sleeping with 100 men is moral or immoral is a question of one’s standards. To be sure, using the word “slut” implies that you think it is immoral, but that is a reasonable position to take.”

Rasmusen also doubles down on his opinions that LGBTQ people should not be allowed to teach grade levels K-12 and that University affirmative action policies are corrupt.

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