ANALYSIS: The short-lived University of Minnesota center follows the downfall of Ibram Kendi’s at Boston University
Yet another “antiracism” center has fallen, just a few years after receiving millions in start-up funds.
The “Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity” will close up shop by next Friday, May 30, according to an announcement by the University of Minnesota.
It follows concerns about plagiarism by its director and criticism of her management ability. However, supporters argue Rachel Hardeman and the center needed more resources from the university.
Except for plagiarism concerns, the criticism mirrored heavily the criticism lodged against Ibram Kendi at Boston University. His antiracism center is shutting down this June and he will be setting up a new endeavor at Howard University.
Hardeman’s center began just four years ago with a $5 million grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, as The College Fix reported at the time. Hardeman, a “reproductive health equity researcher” and Planned Parenthood board member, designed the vision for the center.
At the time, Hardeman (pictured) ignored questions from The Fix about her goals for the center. Asked similar questions, the university said the center was in the “early stages” and could not provide any real insights.
Fast forward four years later, and the center remains embroiled in controversy. Hardeman, for one, served on the research team that released a questionable paper suggesting black babies do better when cared for by black doctors.
Justice Ketanji Jackson cited the claim in her dissenting opinion in the 2023 Supreme Court that banned affirmative action. However, experts have questioned the paper, and a public records request found one author left out the important variable of birth weight because it “undermines the narrative.”
Lately, the university and Hardeman have faced questions over their handling of plagiarism allegations concerning a paper she wrote. The allegations center on a 2023 paper she wrote which suggested a link between “police violence” and poor birth outcomes.
A black epidemiologist, Brigette Davis, publicly accused Hardeman of copying large portions of her paper on April 10. She made the accusations public after the university cleared Hardeman of the accusations.
MORE: UMinn ‘antiracism’ research retracts DEI study
Minnesota Public Radio reported that Hardeman wrote in emails to Davis that she had made mistakes in her paper and meant to discuss the proposal with the epidemiologist. “I moved quickly and thoughtlessly in throwing together a proposal,” Hardeman wrote in one email.
When asked about these emails, Hardeman told Inside Higher Ed it was an “honest error,” as determined by the university.
“She and I were working on very similar things,” Hardeman said in her defense.
The Fix has tried in the past several weeks to reach Davis and Hardeman for comment, but neither has responded.
Hardeman said she has not been fired but is leaving due to not being supported by the university.
Inside Higher Ed reported:
“I decided well over a year ago to begin planning my exit from the University of Minnesota, for a variety of reasons,” she said, saying that university leadership had resisted her efforts to build a sustainable center, including by not financially supporting it. (Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota said it gave $5 million to found the center.)
“I could no longer do the work in a place where I wasn’t getting the support, where my ideas and my thoughts around radical change and innovation—not only were they not respected, they didn’t want to hear it,” she said.
A former employee, however, said staff felt they were running the whole operation while Hardeman garnered awards and recognition.
He said the profile of how Kendi’s center collapsed “was like reading an in-depth look into what was happening in our own center.”
However, others backed up Hardeman’s assertion that the school needed to provide more support. The university declined to address those allegations when asked by the Minnesota Star Tribune.
MORE: Hardeman creates critical race theory birth class
IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: Professor Rachel Hardeman is interviewed; University of Minnesota Office for Public Engagement/YouTube
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