Penn State President Eric Barron tackled some recent headlines when talking to the university faculty senate on Monday.
The criticism he’s received for allowing former domestic terrorist Bill Ayers speak on campus has not escaped his attention, and neither has the Penn State fraternity that was suspended for allegedly posting nude photos of women on Facebook.
One faculty senate member told Barron that many of his law students were unhappy with the fact that Bill Ayers is coming to speak. Barron has also received a highly critical letter from a state senator who urged him to cancel the speech, which he said he has personally responded to. The controversy stems from the fact that Ayers is a former member of 1960’s revolutionary organization the Weather Underground, which claimed responsibility for bombings at government buildings.
But Barron told the faculty senate that it’s his belief universities should encourage expression of all opinions, even unpopular ones.
“I look at the function of our university, and it has to be place where ideas are expressed, considered and even rejected after listening and thinking about a position,” Barron says. “… Our students are going into this with their eyes wide open on history. This is not indoctrination; it’s the exchange of ideas.”
When asked about the now-suspended Penn State chapter of Kappa Delta Rho, Barron’s response was swift and simple. If the allegations facing the fraternity are found to be true, then the university strongly condemns Kappa Delta Rho’s actions.
“It’s simply unacceptable,” Barron says. “And it didn’t take long for the national organization to say sorry and put the chapter on suspension.”
Barron also gave the faculty senate a preview of a presentation he plans to make at this Friday’s Penn State Board of Trustees meeting in Hershey. Barron will give a “fairly lengthy” talk on diversity and demographics at Penn State, with a focus on the future of the university.
Barron has been evaluating state and national census data, as well as enrollment statistics from across Penn State’s campuses. With minority populations projected to eclipse Caucasian populations in the coming decades, Barron said it is a “moral imperative” to recruit and retain minority students, faculty and staff.
“When you talk to a student who’s had a significant experience with someone very different than themselves, they always describe it as an enriching experience,” Barron says.
Barron also briefly touched Governor Tom Wolf’s budget proposal, which would increase funding to Penn State by nearly $50 million if approved by the legislature. While Barron did not address Wolf’s call for a state-wide tuition freeze, he did express excitement at the budget proposal.
“It’s been a long time since anyone’s said ‘give Penn State more money,” and I like it,” he said.
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