NAS Delaware Affiliate President Jan Blits Receives Academic Freedom Award

Ashley Thorne

Congratulations to Delaware Association of Scholars president Jan Blits on receiving the Jeane Jordan Kirkpatrick Academic Freedom Award on February 11! He was honored as a longtime intellectual warrior and for his defense of academic freedom and freedom of speech.

In his acceptance speech, Professor Blits described the residence life program at the University of Delaware, which attempted to re-educate first-year students into a politically correct, anti-American mindset. The program was conducted under the guise of citizenship and sustainability training, and it coerced, shamed, and intimidated students into compliance. Professor Blits and Linda Gottfredson, leaders in NAS’s Delaware affiliate, brought the program into public attention, after which it was quickly shut down by the university.

Professor Blits also spoke about the movement, driven by bodies such as the American College Personnel Association (ACPA), to elevate administrators to the level of “educators.”

He concluded with a charge to defend liberty and stand up to those who would erode it: “We must not fear challenging political correctness in all its forms, especially when it claims the moral high ground, as it always does and which it certainly does not enjoy.”

We at NAS are thrilled to see Professor Blits rightly recognized for his courage in doing just this.  

  • Share

Most Commented

May 20, 2025

1.

How Female is Campus Anti-Semitism?

The anecdotal evidence is starting to pile up while academia’s thesis that white men are source of evil continues to crumble....

May 8, 2025

2.

NAS Commends Government Proposal on Tackling Student Loan Crisis

The Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan provides systematic and beneficial reform to America’s student loan system, and to higher education as a whole. It is a welcome complement......

June 17, 2025

3.

America Needs to Revitalize Civics Education

Recent protests and current events reveal a deep-seated need to educate for virtuous citizens....

Most Read

May 15, 2015

1.

Where Did We Get the Idea That Only White People Can Be Racist?

A look at the double standard that has arisen regarding racism, illustrated recently by the reaction to a black professor's biased comments on Twitter....

October 12, 2010

2.

Ask a Scholar: What is the True Definition of Latino?

What does it mean to be Latino? Are only Latin American people Latino, or does the term apply to anyone whose language derived from Latin?...

September 21, 2010

3.

Ask a Scholar: What Does YHWH Elohim Mean?

A reader asks, "If Elohim refers to multiple 'gods,' then Yhwh Elohim really means Lord of Gods...the one of many, right?" A Hebrew expert answers....