LOUISIANA ALLIANCE
TO DEFEND DEMOCRACY
Political Pressure Triggers Crackdown on Free Speech and Academic Freedom at Tulane
Respected Environmental Scientist Resigns to Prevent Her Work From Being Weaponized Against Tulane Environmental Law Clinic
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact for Alliance to Defend Democracy: Press@DefendDemocracyAlliance.org
NEW ORLEANS — Tulane University is facing sharp criticism for what experts and advocates are calling a politically motivated assault on academic freedom and free speech, following the abrupt silencing of staff at the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic (TELC) and the resignation of a nationally recognized environmental scientist.
The crisis was triggered after Governor Jeff Landry reportedly threatened to veto any state funding for Tulane’s downtown expansion unless university leadership curtailed the work of its environmental law clinic. The warning came after the high-profile publication of research revealing stark racial disparities in job creation across Louisiana’s petrochemical sector.
Dr. Kimberly Terrell, a Tulane alumna and leading environmental researcher, announced her resignation from the university today in an effort to protect the work and mission of the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic (TELC).
“I would rather leave my position at the university than have my work used as an excuse for President Fitts to dismantle the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic,” Dr. Terrell stated in a letter shared with law school colleagues, which is included below.
Her resignation follows an unprecedented gag order imposed on clinic staff by Tulane Law School Dean Marcilynn Burke, seemingly at the direction of President Fitts. Under the new policy, Terrell and other clinic staff must obtain pre-approval for all external communications, including meeting requests, academic conferences, panels, media interviews, social media posts, and more.
“After being affiliated with Tulane for 25 years and leading groundbreaking research at TELC for seven years, I cannot remain silent as this university sacrifices academic integrity for political appeasement and pet projects,” Terrell went on to write.
Dr. Terrell established the university as a leading voice on environmental justice research. A recipient of the Tulane Environmental Stewardship Award and the American Association of Law Schools Pro Bono Award, Dr. Terrell is a nationally recognized researcher who has broad expertise related to environmental health, including epidemiology, statistics, and air monitoring. Her research focuses on the intersection of science and environmental regulation, especially among underserved communities.
POLITICAL INTERFERENCE AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS
Internal communications suggest that the directive to suppress the clinic’s communications came after Tulane University President Michael Fitts faced direct pressure from Governor Landry. Recapping her meeting with President Fitts, Tulane Law School Dean Marcilynn Burke acknowledged in a May 4 email that Tulane’s $600 million downtown redevelopment — centered around the transformation of the historic Charity Hospital building — is the University administration’s top strategic priority. She further noted that elected officials and major donors view the clinic as “an impediment” to gaining full political and financial support for the project.
Burke cited “Tulane Day at the Capitol” as a turning point when the administration’s focus shifted decisively toward controlling the clinic’s public presence.
“I never imagined that, after seven years of high-profile success, my program would be gutted to appease elected officials and major donors who view the Clinic’s work as an ‘impediment’ to their interests,” Terrell wrote to her law school colleagues.
A DANGEROUS PRECEDENT
Civil liberties advocates, academics, and legal experts warn that Tulane’s actions set a dangerous precedent for academic institutions under political pressure. The muzzling of environmental researchers and legal advocates not only undermines public trust, it threatens the foundational principles of academic independence and public service.
“The academic freedom of all university researchers must be unequivocally defended at both public and private institutions. This includes the right to conduct and disseminate research that may be unfavorably viewed by government officials or corporate entities. Political demands to stifle controversial research are an affront to the advancement of knowledge and open exchange of ideas, as is the voluntary compliance with such requests by university leadership,” said Michelle Lacey, the Tulane representative for the American Association of University Professors, and a Professor of Mathematics.
“Kim’s work at the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic has been invaluable to vulnerable communities who bear the brunt of environmental injustice. Seeing this attack on free speech is alarming for a number of reasons, but the most important is that the communities who TELC serves will be the ones who suffer most,” added Ruhan Nagra, Director of the Environmental Justice Clinic at University of Utah Law School.
“The effort to suppress our scientific findings is deeply disturbing. While I will not impute intent, it is impossible to ignore that the shortcomings and inequalities in employment that we identify in the powerful petrochemical industry have triggered this heavy handed attempt to suppress academic freedom,” said Michael Ash, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts.
“Even more disturbing is that the administration of Tulane University, far from standing up for academic freedom, is participating in the effort to suppress free inquiry and the pursuit of knowledge by scientific methods. Kimberly Terrell’s position as a research scientist is protected explicitly by academic freedom clauses. Any effort to reduce academic freedom for Dr. Terrell either by changing her job classification or by redefining whether the protection applies is a blatant and un-American attempt to suppress the type of free inquiry that has made this country great,” Ash continued.
“We have seen Dr. Terrell work with the utmost care, diligence, integrity, and rigor. Her work is widely respected nationally, even beyond Louisiana,” said Pam Spees,
Senior Staff Attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights. “She has a rare ability to share and distill reams of scientific information and research in accessible ways with communities long plagued by profound health impacts of pervasive pollution, and who are constantly gaslit by their local and state officials. Dr. Terrell was able to bring facts to light and place them in the hands of community members. This is a loss for Tulane.”
COMMUNITY LEADERS SPEAK OUT
Community leaders and legal experts praised Dr. Terrell’s research on the impacts of the petrochemical industry and urged President Fitts to commit to protecting Tulane’s Environmental Law Clinic.
“Dr. Terrell and the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic have been instrumental in exposing the egregious harms that the petrochemical industry has inflicted on our communities,” said Dr. Joy Banner, Co-Founder and Co-Director of The Descendants Project, a community organization in the heart of Cancer Alley.
“Dr. Terrell’s research has armed us with the facts we need to show the world the disproportionate damage that heavy industry has done to majority and historically Black communities,” she continued.
“Without the work of the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, it would be far more difficult to show the racially discriminatory practices of the industry, from preferential hiring practices to a pattern of concentrating pollution in majority Black neighborhoods. President Fitts must commit to protecting it at all costs,” said Jo Banner, Co-Founder and Co-Director of The Descendants Project.
“If racial disparities and environmental harm are clear in the research and data, why are the facts being hidden instead of highlighted? Economic development has its place, but not if it means putting our health, our safety, and our lives at risk. No community should be sacrificed so that others can profit,” said Kimbrelle Eugene Kyereh, Founder and Executive Director of Refined Community Empowerment, Inc., on behalf of the No Ammonia Plant in St. Rose Initiative.
“Tulane University President Michael Fitts appears to be turning his back on historic Black communities to serve his own narrow agenda,” said Robert Taylor, Director of Concerned Citizens of St. John, noting that TELC frequently partners with communities of color. “Every student, teacher, donor, staff member and trustee should be outraged about the racism that’s reportedly permeating Tulane University’s administration.”
“President Fitts still has an opportunity to be on the right side of history by committing to protect Tulane University’s Environmental Law Clinic. Let’s hope he acts accordingly,” added Taylor.
Dr. Terrell shared the following letter with her law school colleagues upon tendering her resignation earlier today:
Dear Law School Colleagues,
With profound sadness, I’m resigning my position as Research Scientist and Director of Community Engagement at the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic (TELC), effective immediately. When I graduated from Tulane 20 years ago, I never imagined the opportunity that lay ahead – to build and lead a transdisciplinary program that provides a scientific foundation for world-class environmental lawyering. And I never imagined that, after seven years of high-profile success, my program would be gutted to appease elected officials and major donors who view the Clinic’s work as an ‘impediment’ to their interests. After weeks of targeted attacks on me by Tulane leadership, it’s clear that the only way to protect the work and interests of TELC is for me to resign.
As many of you are aware, TELC is under siege. While the entire clinic is at stake, President Fitts has become focused on my position and my work as an avenue of attack. As explained below, this attack was precipitated by my most recent study, published April 9, 2025 in Ecological Economics. The study revealed that people of Color don’t get their fair share of U.S. petrochemical jobs, with disparities that are outsized compared to racial education gaps. TELC student attorneys have already cited this study in legal arguments on behalf of clients from industrialized communities. My prior research indicates that these same client communities are overburdened with the harms of industrial pollution, including cancer, unhealthy births, and COVID-19 susceptibility. My work at TELC has gotten significant attention; the 2022 cancer study ranks in Almetric’s top 1% for research impact, with 28 citations and 87 news mentions to date. Such impact would be celebrated by most institutions. I’d happily settle for the deep gratitude I get from Tulane student attorneys who have made more compelling legal arguments as a result of my research and technical guidance.
On April 16, President Fitts and Tulane’s top executives went to Tulane Day at the State Capitol to promote our economic impact and make a funding pitch for Fitts’ legacy project – the expansion of Tulane’s downtown footprint through the redevelopment of Charity hospital into residential/commercial space. My recent study had been gaining media attention. As the Provost describes it, Tulane Day was “wonderful,” until a ripple suddenly went through the crowd and someone accused the university of being anti chemical industry due to my recent study. In the Provost’s words, “people were left feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed.” The story that came down to me through the chain of command was that Governor Landry threatened to veto any bill with funding for Tulane’s Charity project unless Fitts did something about the Environmental Law Clinic.
The following week, I was placed under a complete gag order. I was told that I could not communicate with anyone outside Tulane law school without each individual communication being pre-approved by the Dean. Two weeks ago, when I pleaded my case to the Provost, he refused to acknowledge my right to freely conduct and disseminate research. The Provost also let slip that my job description was likely going to be rewritten.
I invite you to read the jobs study here and see what the fuss is about. As always, my approach is scientific – dispassionate and grounded in data. President Fitts and Provost Forman have been unable to produce a single criticism of my science. Despite all the scrutiny, the scholarly merit of my work remains unchallenged.
Scholarly publications, not gag orders, are the currency of academia. There is always room for informed debate. But Tulane leaders have chosen to abandon the principles of knowledge, education, and the greater good in pursuit of their own narrow agenda. I would rather leave my position at the university than have my work used as an excuse for President Fitts to dismantle the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic. After being affiliated with Tulane for 25 years and leading groundbreaking research at TELC for seven years, I cannot remain silent as this university sacrifices academic integrity for political appeasement and pet projects. Our work is too important, and the stakes are too high, to sit back and watch special interests replace scholarship with censorship. I hope that you will join me in publicly defending the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic.
Non sibi sed suis,
Kimberly Terrell, Ph.D.