INDIANAPOLIS – Purdue University President Mitch Daniels has pledged to promote academic freedom since taking office in January.
But emails obtained by The Associated Press show Daniels worked during his second term as Indiana governor to eliminate what he considered liberal breeding grounds at the state's public universities. He requested in 2010 that liberal historian Howard Zinn's writings be banned from classrooms and asked for a "cleanup" of college courses he called "propaganda."
Emails also show he tried to silence an IUPUI professor critical of his education overhaul.
The efforts have renewed concerns about Daniels' qualifications to lead a major research university, months after critics questioned his lack of academic credentials and his hiring by a board he appointed.
Free speech advocates called Daniels' emails "shocking." Daniels stands by his statements.
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