NICE TO SEE SOMEONE STANDING UP FOR FREE SPEECH: Academic groups defend Brock prof, accused of ‘hurtful’ comments.

Two academic organizations are defending a Brock University chemistry professor accused of recently publishing “hurtful and alienating” comments in a German scientific journal.

In addition to being criticized on social media, professor Tomas Hudlicky was slammed by his own institution in statements the university published online on June 5 and 7, which described Hudlicky’s comments — published last week in “Angewandte Chemie” — as “objectionable” and “utterly at odds with the values of Brock’s deeply committed research mentors.”

In the article, which has since been removed from the academic journal’s website, Hudlický argues that hiring practices that give preferential treatment to women and minorities is counter-productive if it results in discrimination against the most meritorious candidates.

But following the backlash Hudlicky received for his statement, both the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship (SAFS) and the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) sent letters to the university defending the professor.