University of Utah: Department of Communication’s Anti-Racist Code of Conduct Ripe For Abuse

In November 2020, faculty from the University of Utah Department of Communication voted to adopt an Anti-Racist Code of Conduct that imposed “an affirmative obligation on all Departmental members to engage in anti-racist actions and support anti-racist Department institutions and norms.” The ARCC and its supplemental Anti-Racist Strategic Plan forced faculty and faculty applicants to endorse a prescribed ideology, reform curriculum without regard for academic freedom, and “eradicate” protected speech. FIRE wrote the department on March 23, 2023, urging that it consider the consequences the ARCC will have on faculty whose views, pedagogical choices, or associations do not coincide with the department’s goals, and that it meet the public university’s binding First Amendment obligations by eliminating or revising the ARCC and ARSP. In August 2024, FIRE confirmed both the ARCC and ARSP were eliminated.