Purdue statement on ACLU suit regarding SEA 202 (Aug. 14, 2024)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —
Today Judge Sarah Evans Barker dismissed the case, agreeing with Purdue that the plaintiffs lack standing to press their claims under SEA 202. To be clear, Purdue never took a position on the merits of the plaintiffs’ case, instead opting to make a procedural argument that the claims are not ripe, and thus the court did not have jurisdiction. Importantly, this was the only part of the Attorney General’s brief that Purdue signed onto, and this is the argument that ultimately prevailed in court. To clarify its support of only the jurisdictional arguments in the AG’s brief, Purdue filed the attached Supplemental Notice with the court two days ago.
As the Supplemental Notice makes clear, and contrary to some media accounts, Purdue never wavered in its commitment to academic freedom and faculty tenure. In fact, Purdue trustees voted to reaffirm this commitment in April, following a February letter sent to all faculty.
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Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.