A prominent climate physicist has resigned from UC Berkeley after his proposal to invite a divisive speaker outspoken about his views on diversity and opposition to affirmative action was rejected by colleagues, as reported by KTVU.
"I hold BASC and its faculty – my friends and colleagues – in the highest regard, and so it has been a great honor to serve as BASC's director these past five years. But it was never my intention to lead an organization that is political or even ambiguously so," wrote David Romps in a Twitter post on Monday.
Romps added that he was stepping down from his position as Director of the Berkeley Atmospheric Sciences Center, "at the end of this calendar year or when a replacement is ready, whichever is sooner."
The physicist had hoped to invite University of Chicago geophysical assistant professor Dorian Abbot, who had spoken at the center before, in 2014. Abbot has since spoken out about the protests following the murder of George Floyd last summer, decrying the violence in Chicago, and written several blog posts and op-eds defending his position on merit-based academics.
Abbot had been selected to give the tenth annual John Carlson Lecture at MIT this month.
But after a series of YouTube videos came to light with Abbot disapproving of the demonstrations last summer, the school withdrew its invitation.
As a result, Romps saw an opportunity to bring Abbot to Berkeley, according to Monday’s Twitter thread. "I asked the BASC faculty if we might invite that scientist to speak to us in the coming months to hear the science talk he had prepared and, by extending the invitation now, reaffirm that BASC is a purely scientific organization, not a political one," Romps wrote.
According to Romps, the ensuing discussion amongst his colleagues made it obvious that it would be difficult to invite Abbot not just now, but ever again.
"I was hoping we could agree that BASC does not consider an individual's political or social opinions when selecting speakers for its events, except for cases in which the opinions give a reasonable expectation that members of our community would be treated with disrespect," wrote Romps. "Unfortunately, it is unclear when or if we might reach agreement on this point."
Dissatisfied with the decision, Romps said that by rejecting the possibility of inviting Abbot, the center was diminishing scientific opportunities and collaboration.
"More broadly, such exclusion signals that some opinions – even well-intentioned ones – are forbidden, thereby increasing self-censorship, degrading public discourse, and contributing to our nation's political balkanization," Romps wrote.
The Berkeley Atmospheric Sciences Center has not yet responded to KCBS Radio’s request for comment.
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