Assault on Journalist at OSU a Predictable Side Effect of the Dismantling of Shared Governance

AAUP President Todd Wolfson issued the following statement in response to the recent disturbing viral video of an Ohio State University assistant professor's physical assault on a journalist.

The AAUP condemns the attack on an independent documentarian who was attempting to interview former OSU President E. Gordon Gee. The assault raises serious concerns about press rights and safety at the Ohio State University campus.

This assault also underscores the contentious role of the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society, a new "intellectual diversity" center that was forced onto OSU by Ohio lawmakers. Voted down by the University Senate in spring 2025 yet approved by the board of trustees, the Chase Center has been widely criticized for its extraordinary latitude and limited accountability in its hiring and curriculum, acting as if it has minimal responsibilities to the university and in defiance of academic standards and processes.

The Chase Center was explicitly created to correct lawmakers' allegations of indoctrination on campus and to advance a narrowly defined version of civics education. The assault is particularly disturbing as a violent betrayal of the very principles of the Chase Center's stated mission of promoting civility, free speech, and open inquiry.

Ohio legislators and federal agencies have directed millions of taxpayer dollars to a center neither requested nor endorsed by the campus community-while simultaneously dismantling DEI initiatives and cutting support for scientific research grants.

This incident is a predictable consequence of university hiring and curriculum decisions that lack academic accountability. Faculty governance exists to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity. The dismantling of widely accepted and highly effective practices of academic shared governance undermines the best interests of university faculty, staff, students, and community members.