The rules should be made so that fascist extramural speech would be based for dismissal. That they are not, when they are for so many other professions, shines a bad light on academy as a whole.
October 31, 2025 at 1:49 PM
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What a world. Had to write this on a "future" section of a project. Might as well be honest 🤷♀️
October 31, 2025 at 10:41 PM
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6/7 Peer review is the foundation of the NIH extramural program, which awards ~$38B annually to universities and research institutions across the United States and supports 400,000 jobs. For each $1 NIH spends, the US economy sees a $2.56 ROI. Every state benefits from NIH funding.
October 30, 2025 at 11:02 PM
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the Texas State University System Board of Regents is reviewing Tom Alter’s case on November 10. The link below will take you to a letter you can sign and send in his behalf.
if there's no free extramural speech there's no freedom at all
actionnetwork.org/letters/supp...
if there's no free extramural speech there's no freedom at all
actionnetwork.org/letters/supp...
Academic Letter of Support for Dr. Tom Alter to be Reinstated at TXST, San Marcos
Dear Academic Supporter of Dr. Tom Alter, Tom Alter is undertaking a formal appeal of his firing from Texas State University, San Marcos. On November 10, a subcommittee of the Texas State University...
actionnetwork.org
October 27, 2025 at 1:11 PM
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Unlike extramural PIs, no one working at the NIH/NSF or in the federal government is currently getting a paycheck. So if I am worried about people keeping a roof over their head, I am more worried about federal employees than extramural PIs at the moment.
October 21, 2025 at 3:52 PM
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Or maybe it will be replaced by an extramural IRB made of the worst of the worst.
My own limited experience of working with the CDC is they're a more administrative, coordination and reporting agency than a research agency, so I don't actually know how much of a barrier this will be.
My own limited experience of working with the CDC is they're a more administrative, coordination and reporting agency than a research agency, so I don't actually know how much of a barrier this will be.
October 19, 2025 at 5:12 PM
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extramural nonprofessional political speech. no freedom.
October 14, 2025 at 12:29 AM
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I just noticed the NHLBI National Advisory Council has what look like extra meetings in October each year. This year's meeting is, obv, cancelled. Does anyone know if they deal with extramural grants in oct, or do those get reviewed in aug?
www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/adviso...
www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/adviso...
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council
www.nhlbi.nih.gov
October 14, 2025 at 12:23 AM
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Sorry extramural scientists, this is not a vacation day.
The moose out front should have told you… grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
NOT-OD-26-004: Information for the NIH Extramural Community During the Lapse of Federal Government Funding
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Information for the NIH Extramural Community During the Lapse of Federal Government Funding NOT-OD-26-004. NIH
grants.nih.gov
October 1, 2025 at 2:49 PM
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UC faculty are fighting through the courts to save the UC system. Our funding has been swept by central admin. We can’t pay to travel or research. Every time we lecture we’re at risk of attacks by right-wing mobs. Fortunately the UC Regents are on the ball: they’re…finding new ways to discipline us.
October 1, 2025 at 2:32 PM
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Thousands fewer projects will be funded so success rates for grant applications hit all-time lows.
“That is extremely demoralizing,” says ex-extramural chief Mike Lauer. “We want people to be excited about being in science. This will do even more to chase people away from doing science in the US.”
“That is extremely demoralizing,” says ex-extramural chief Mike Lauer. “We want people to be excited about being in science. This will do even more to chase people away from doing science in the US.”
September 30, 2025 at 3:32 PM
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Lauer may have worked "tirelessly" for some in the extramural community but it sure as fuck wasn't for the Black investigators who had been demonstrably on the short end of the stick from FY2000 onward.
October 1, 2025 at 2:46 AM
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What if NIH had been 40% smaller?
"We analyze 27 years of NIH extramural awards & their review scores to identify the bottom 40% of grants that would have been eliminated from 1980 to 2007... We then identify new molecular entity drugs, approved in the 21st century, that are linked to these grants"
"We analyze 27 years of NIH extramural awards & their review scores to identify the bottom 40% of grants that would have been eliminated from 1980 to 2007... We then identify new molecular entity drugs, approved in the 21st century, that are linked to these grants"
What if NIH had been 40% smaller?
Replaying history with less NIH funding shows widespread impacts on drug-linked research
www.science.org
September 27, 2025 at 7:06 PM
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Re: academic freedom, there are limits, but in the context of extramural expression those limits are almost entirely comprised by existing law: emmettmacfarlane.substack.com/p/u-of-t-pro...
U of T prof's tweet, assumed by some to refer to Charlie Kirk killing, was bad, but so is the University's reaction
[Note: a commenter has pointed to this PressProgress report suggesting that the media’s coverage of this story, including the CBC story linked below, may be in fundamental error, as the tweet in quest...
emmettmacfarlane.substack.com
September 18, 2025 at 4:33 PM
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The rampant violations of academic freedom and intrusions on extramural speech are escalating rapidly. Faculty members have the right to speak or write as citizens, free from institutional censorship or discipline. Expression of opinion as a citizen does not constitute grounds for dismissal.
Clemson fires two more faculty members over Charlie Kirk comments
Clemson leaders had come under increased pressure from people online as well as South Carolina Republican politicians to take action.
www.wcnc.com
September 16, 2025 at 6:07 PM
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Join our @prereview.bsky.social Champions Team & @elife.bsky.social Ambassadors this @peerreviewweek.bsky.social to collaboratively review this #preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2023...
When: Fri, Sep 19 at 3pm UTC
Where: Zoom, register at: bit.ly/Sep19-Live-R...
#PRW2025
When: Fri, Sep 19 at 3pm UTC
Where: Zoom, register at: bit.ly/Sep19-Live-R...
#PRW2025
September 16, 2025 at 5:46 PM
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Some 1st Amendment law re public higher ed & public subsidies:
1. Although SCOTUS held that public employees generally are not protected for speech conveyed as part of their duties, they said there might be an exception for higher ed.
2. For extramural speech, all pub. employees ... 1/x
1. Although SCOTUS held that public employees generally are not protected for speech conveyed as part of their duties, they said there might be an exception for higher ed.
2. For extramural speech, all pub. employees ... 1/x
September 15, 2025 at 10:05 PM
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I think it would be wise for the extramural community to absolutely hammer the ICs with demands that they respond to these highly unusual times by picking up prior year’s high scoring grants that missed out.
The intervening years may be quite tough with limitations on the number of funded investigators and grants.
I wish I did not feel so strongly that this is actually the purpose of the new policies...
/fin
I wish I did not feel so strongly that this is actually the purpose of the new policies...
/fin
a dog sitting on a beach looking out over the ocean
ALT: a dog sitting on a beach looking out over the ocean
media.tenor.com
September 14, 2025 at 3:02 PM
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As many of us warned, the same patrolling of extramural expression that was used to target faculty and students who spoke up for Palestine is now being generalized to anything the right doesn't like.
I am having a hard time reconciling "Charlie Kirk was a fierce advocate of open dialogue and free expression" with "we must identify and persecute everyone who is insufficiently mournful"
After Charlie Kirk's death, teachers and professors nationwide fired or disciplined over social media posts
At least a dozen faculty and staff have faced fallout over insensitive comments online.
www.nbcnews.com
September 13, 2025 at 2:51 PM
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In the new issue of @socres.org, Judith Butler issues their defense of extramural speech and academic freedom
"No matter where we stand on particular issues of the day, we should all stand for these principles"
Free thru 30 Sept at @ProjectMUSE
tinyurl.com/mrvj5u8a
"No matter where we stand on particular issues of the day, we should all stand for these principles"
Free thru 30 Sept at @ProjectMUSE
tinyurl.com/mrvj5u8a
September 12, 2025 at 6:26 PM
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www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
Tenured professor fired from Texas State University, by presidential decree without appropriate faculty review process, for extramural speech that, while it favored violent revolution at an indeterminate time in the future, was definitely not “incitement.”
Tenured professor fired from Texas State University, by presidential decree without appropriate faculty review process, for extramural speech that, while it favored violent revolution at an indeterminate time in the future, was definitely not “incitement.”
Texas State University fires associate professor for 'controversial statements'
Texas State University fired associate history professor Thomas Alter for “controversial statements” at a conference that they said advocated for inciting violence.
www.houstonchronicle.com
September 11, 2025 at 3:56 AM
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Academic freedom includes extramural speech. And you dont have a university if the president can decide on alleged violations unilaterally - there needs to be a faculty led process.
Does American academia ever recover from this? Probably not
Does American academia ever recover from this? Probably not
Another professor in Texas is fired, this time after a selectively edited video of a talk he gave was posted on X, with the bogus claim that he was inciting violence www.texastribune.org/2025/09/10/t...
Texas State fires professor accused of trying to incite political violence in video
Thomas Alter is the second professor in the state to be terminated for allegedly violating university policy after a video was posted on social media.
www.texastribune.org
September 11, 2025 at 4:34 AM
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Hearing from multiple sources that Jon Lorsch is stepping down as NIGMS Director to become Deputy Director for Extramural Research, a job he has held in an acting capacity for some time.
September 2, 2025 at 6:22 PM
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and at the expense of faculty rights.”—Judith Butler
Read Butler’s “Academic Freedom in a Time of Destruction: Reconsidering Extramural Speech” for “The Embattled University” here: dx.doi.org/10.1353/s...
2/2
Read Butler’s “Academic Freedom in a Time of Destruction: Reconsidering Extramural Speech” for “The Embattled University” here: dx.doi.org/10.1353/s...
2/2
September 2, 2025 at 3:25 PM
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At this point, I legitimately do not know what other achievements I am supposed to pursue to make myself a more compelling candidate. I'd done all the things - publish, teach widely, do public-facing, get extramural funding, do service - that I was told burnish a CV.
Solidly out of ideas.
Solidly out of ideas.
October 19, 2024 at 6:36 PM
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