We Won! University Backtracks on Ban of Use of Name on This Blog!

Jul 13 2009

We Won! University Backtracks on Ban of Use of Name on This Blog!

Yes, it’s true. After posting that my university had sent me a letter by courier telling me to take the name of my university off of my blog, there was mounting publicity about the situation, including stories by BNET Pharma, Schwitzer Health News, and Inside Higher Education, followed by other posts including a story last week in the Academic Exchange and this post on the Carlat Psychiatry Blog. The obvious question was why the ban was applied to me and not other faculty from the same institution. In the face of growing media attention I got a sudden letter chalking it up to a misunderstanding, basically, and yes I can identify myself as university faculty. I thought the first letter was pretty clear not to use the university name in any way, but, whatever.

I think this question has important implications for academic freedom because if I can’t say that I am a professor of psychiatry and radiology then people don’t have any basis for evaluating my opinions. If I am reading a blog about legal issues I want to know if that person was trained as a lawyer. My work in the area of medication safety started with the issue of the acne drug Accutane causing depression (taken off the market last week thanks in part to my efforts btw) and continued with a book analyzing prescription medication which they declined to publicize.

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) both took an interest in the case. After an initial good first step in saying that it was a violation of my academic freedom for the university to block me from identifying myself as a member of their faculty, I think the response of the AAUP was fairly weak, saying that since I didn’t file a grievance that they assumed I felt the issue was resolved. My complaint was about their ban on me identifying myself as a faculty member, especially when it was so arbitrary and unilateral, in what basically amounts to an effort at censorship.

If this isn’t the kind of issue that the AAUP is interested in, then what is?

Filed in academic freedom | Doug Bremner

14 Comments

By Susie, July 13, 2009 @ 9:57 am

Emory University’s slogan: “Where courageous inquiry leads”. They just took a tiny step in the appropriate direction.

Congratuations!
By Susie, July 13, 2009 @ 9:58 am

Emory University’s slogan: “Where courageous inquiry leads”. They just took a tiny step in the appropriate direction.

Congratulations!
By captain sunshine, July 13, 2009 @ 10:18 am

Congratulations ! I have always enjoyed our stress work !
By Crawford Harris, July 13, 2009 @ 10:18 am

Thanks for clearing up matters. I was wondering why country music television personality Ralph Emery did not want to be associated with you.

It seems I was not the only one who misunderstood something. It appears that the university misunderstood its role and raison d’etre.
By Gina Pera, July 13, 2009 @ 11:25 am

Did the Emory Board make the decision? Oh, wait, that’s Emery, isn’t it.

Congratulations, Dr. B.

g
By Dan, July 13, 2009 @ 1:04 pm

Very good job in your tactical strategy, Doug.
By harry, July 13, 2009 @ 1:17 pm

Emory is such a mess right now. Major fail
By Stephany, July 13, 2009 @ 2:45 pm

Great news, I hope you don’t put the name back here! It would be a great headline that says, “Integrity and ethics return to Emory, Nemeroff pays all non-reported pharma money to homeless shelters” or something like that.

Or, it would be great if they actually published the book release and gave the book a proper announcement.

Great victory for you though!
By Alan, July 13, 2009 @ 6:38 pm

You wrote, “I got a sudden letter chalking it up to a misunderstanding…”
Yes, indeed. The misunderstanding being the University didn’t think they’d catch any flak over the matter. Good on ya’, mate!
By Katherine Peil, July 13, 2009 @ 10:24 pm

Fishtrap sized kahoonies! Congrats!
By Neuroskeptic, July 20, 2009 @ 9:37 am

“I got a sudden letter chalking it up to a misunderstanding”

I think Emery’s zoology department need to check the locks on their cages. A bunch of weasles must have escaped into the boardroom. Weasles without the balls to admit they were wrong – clearly those zoologists must neutered them…