@brsoucek
Professor at UC Davis Law School, where I teach con law & civil procedure and write about academic freedom & aesthetics. Author of The Opinionated University (U Chicago Press 2026) and Permitting Art (Cabinet). https://law.ucdavis.edu/people/brian-soucek
“Father Brian Shanley is violating New York state law & ignoring decades of St. John’s institutional practice & centuries of Catholic social teaching around respect for labor & workers."
— Sophie Bell, St. John's University AAUP President
This is a genuinely huge, sweeping victory today for the University of California—or rather, for us, its faculty, acting through our faculty associations, while the UC itself maintained a strict policy of deer-in-headlights silence.
The Trump admin has given up its appeal of a powerful injunction:
I took the Page 99 test!
page99test.blogspot.com/2026/02/bria...
@uchicagopress.bsky.social
This week on @inthemeanwhile.bsky.social, @mhgreen3000.bsky.social and I talk with @brsoucek.bsky.social about academic freedom, the impossibility of institutional neutrality, and why turning campuses into corporate training centers undermines democracy. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
Round 1 to Professor Kutz. Dean Chemerinsky, like Berkeley's Provost, simply ignores the relevant standard here (UC's APM-015), which, as Kutz quotes, requires a "significant intrusion of material unrelated to the course."
www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...
DC-area friends looking for a fun & cozy event before the Big Storm: come join my conversation with @brsoucek.bsky.social at Politics & Prose Bookstore (Conn Ave location) tonight from 5-6pm about his excellent and timely new book, The Opinionated University! politics-prose.com/brian-soucek
I've got a copy of the finished product coming your way! I'm so grateful to you for being an early reader.
Seattle (2/3)
townhallseattle.org/event/brian-...
Chicago (2/10)
www.semcoop.com/event/brian-...
If you're at Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, BU, BU, USC, UCLA, Northwestern, UChicago, Indiana, USF, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Yale, UW, or Stanford, reach out to me directly for info about my visit!
UC Davis (TODAY!)
law.ucdavis.edu/events/opini...
SF (1/15)
www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2026-...
DC (1/24)
politics-prose.com/brian-soucek
Cambridge (1/28)
www.harvard.com/event/brian-...
Princeton (1/29)
www.labyrinthbooks.com/events/souce...
Book cover that says Brian Soucek The Opinionated University Academic Freedom, Diversity, and the Myth of Neutrality in American Higher Education
It's official publication day for The Opinionated University: Academic Freedom, Diversity, and the Myth of Neutrality in American Higher Education
@uchicagopress.bsky.social
More info on the book here:
lnkd.in/gAux5ktY
Links in the comments to lots of places I'll soon be visiting.
Great fun speaking on the #AALS2026 Hot Topic session dedicated to UC-Davis Law Prof Brian Soucek’s brilliant and timely book, The Opinionated University. I was honored to share the panel with BU Law Dean Angela Onwuachi-Willig, UC-Davis Law Dean Jessica Berg, and U of… 1/2
This panel was so great: me and three amazing deans who deal with the issues in my book on the ground every single day. They all had so much insight to share.
Tune in to the AALS Hot Topic Program’s panel “Author Meets Deans,” moderated by @ucdavis.bsky.social Law Dean Jessica Berg. It will focus on Professor @brsoucek.bsky.social’s book “The Opinionated University: Academic Freedom, Diversity, and the Myth of Neutrality in American Higher Education.”
@ucdavis.bsky.social Law Professor @brsoucek.bsky.social’s article, “Tax Law as Muse,” coauthored with Associate Professor Jennifer C. Lena (Teachers College, Columbia University), will receive the first-ever Art Law Scholarship Award from the AALS Art Law Section at 11:10 a.m. CT. 🎉
#AALS2026
Promotional graphic for event featuring Brian Soucek at Town Hall Seattle, scheduled for Feb 3. A headshot of Brian wearing a navy suit is included with the book cover for "The Opinionated University." The background is a gradient mix of blue, pink, and purple.
2/3 at 7:30 PM | UC Davis law professor and author @brsoucek.bsky.social argues why institutional neutrality is an unattainable myth in "The Opinionated University," calling on universities to stand up for their values.
🎟️ Get tickets: buff.ly/joMhkf3
I wish I had written this essay. I think it's perfect.
www.chronicle.com/article/the-...
Northwestern took the deal Trump has offered UCLA (but with a $75mil bribe, not $1.2 billion).
Maybe before!
Who is better than @uchicagopress.bsky.social, who sent me a beautifully wrapped first copy of my new book! Get your copy of The Opinionsted University here: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
Vicki Schultz and I wrote this in 2021. For some reason I've been thinking about it lately.
www.nbcnews.com/think/opinio...
STATEMENT FROM THE UC ACADEMIC COUNCIL REGARDING DISCLOSURES OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION (PII) With unanimous resolve, the Academic Council addresses University of California President Milliken concerning the disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII) of faculty, students, and staff to the federal government amid an ongoing investigation of UC Berkeley by the Office for Civil Rights within the U.S. Department of Education into alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. President Milliken’s message to the UC community on October 3 describes the University’s actions as undertaken to comply with federal law, as written and interpreted, and refers to several months of anonymization efforts. The attendant FAQ further states that there have been prior federal investigations, demands for records, and PII disclosures by UC and many other institutions. Nevertheless, in this volatile climate—amid systematic and unprecedented federal actions designed to usurp control over U.S. higher education—universities must recognize that they can no longer rely on the ethos of collaboration and goodwill that has historically defined their relationships with the federal government. Consequently, we assert that the disclosure of PII can no longer be regarded as a standard procedural matter, irrespective of pre-existing agreements or interpretations of federal compliance requirements. These disclosures have already chilled academic speech and instilled fear in our community of punitive measures and targeted threats. Critically, named persons may not yet have had the opportunity to contest allegations, correct University records, or mitigate risks. These concerns are now amplified by press reports of expanded and unrestricted access to federal databases, raising the specter of misuse of sensitive information. While notifying affected individuals only after disclosure is preferable to silence, the post-facto timing has further eroded institutional t…
Another strong post from UC's Academic Senate, this time on the personally identifiable information of students, staff, and faculty that UC is (or might be) turning over to the Trump administration.
Well, it’s really “we agree to follow Pam Bondi’s view of the law”
fI at any time after the Effective Date, the United States ni its sole discretion determines that UVA si making insufficient progress toward compliance with the Civil Rights I.aws, it wil so notify UVA and provide UVA with a period of 15 days ot make appropriate progress. If the United States determines ni its sole discretion after that time that UVA has not made adequate progress, the United States may terminate this Agreement and may pursue enforcement actions, monetary fines, or grant or funding terminations as appropriate, and may resume al Investigations held ni abeyance during the pendency of this Agreement.
The real problem with UVA's agreement today is that it gives the US the "sole discretion" to decide questions like these. And I have a hunch that Pam Bondi is going to interpret the Bondi memo as consistent with "relevant judicial decisions." So UVA hasn't given itself much of an out here... /end
Are the opinions endorsing race-neutral means of promoting diversity INCONSISTENT with the Bondi memo, or does Bondi just go beyond them, supplementing their colorblindness regarding means with an additional requirement that ends be colorblind too? /3
For example, the Bondi memo prohibits race-neutral recruitment strategies like "targeting specific geographic areas" that "correlate with" race. Conservative justices on the Supreme Court have long recommended the use of race-neutral methods like these. /2
www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justi...
UVA alfirms its commitment to complying with federal civil rights law and agrees to apply Civil Rights Law internally according to the Department of Justice's "Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination" of July 29, 2025, os long as that Guidance remains ni force and to the extent consistent with relevant judicial decisions.
UVA agrees to "apply Civil Rights Law internally" according to the July 2025 Bondi memo, but only "to the extent consistent with relevant judicial decisions." That last part could matter, since the Bondi memo goes so far beyond what "relevant judicial decisions" hold. /1
Sorry, Vice Provost*
What can it possibly mean to apply an “institutional neutrality” policy to the role of “Vice Chancellor Provost of Climate Science, POLICY, and ACTION”? What, is he supposed to alternate days, recycling on one and burning coal the next? It’s incoherent.
www.thedp.com/article/2025...
Did you know that the UC Regents refuse to reveal the letter UCLA received from the Trump admin? Faculty requested a copy under the Public Records Act, but Regents refused, citing unidentified pending litigation. Now a judge has sided with @uclafa.bsky.social, saying UCLA must show us the letter.
