David Romps was the director of the Berkeley Atmospheric Sciences Center (BASC) until today. Romps took to social media to explain his departure as having to do with the political climate at the university.
In a Twitter thread on Monday, Romps announced his resignation because he brought up extending an invite to Professor Dorian Abbot in light of last week’s story about how a cancelled MIT lecture found a new home at Princeton.
It didn’t go as planned. David’s thread summarizes how he was testing the political waters of Berkeley by giving Abbot a platform. It was within Berkeley’s limits because Abbot had previously been invited to the BASC in 2014.
Therefore, I asked the BASC faculty if we might invite that scientist to speak to us in the coming months to hear the science talk he had prepared and, by extending the invitation now, reaffirm that BASC is a purely scientific organization, not a political one.
— David Romps (@romps) October 18, 2021
"I asked the BASC faculty if we might invite that scientist to speak to us in the coming months to hear the science talk he had prepared and, by extending the invitation now, reaffirm that BASC is a purely scientific organization, not a political one. In the ensuing discussion among the BASC faculty, it became unclear to me whether we could invite that scientist ever again, let alone now," Romps wrote.
It’s a situation akin to what Dorian Abbot himself expressed having to face in his own corner of academia, with the common theme being the moment either he or Romps showed their own wherewithal, they were shouted down by their academic peers.
David’s thread further conveys his disappointment at the outcome. While not directly stating that his colleagues at Berkeley reacted with political disgust at David’s proposal to extend an invite, the implication is there.
I hold BASC and its faculty -- my friends and colleagues -- in the highest regard, and so it has been a great honor to serve as BASC's director these past five years. But it was never my intention to lead an organization that is political or even ambiguously so.
— David Romps (@romps) October 18, 2021
"Excluding people because of their political and social views diminishes the pool of scientists with which members of BASC can interact and reduces the opportunities for learning and collaboration," Romps wrote. "More broadly, such exclusion signals that some opinions -- even well-intentioned ones -- are forbidden, thereby increasing self-censorship, degrading public discourse, and contributing to our nation's political balkanization."
David Romps said he will leave as soon as a replacement is found or at the end of his directorship, whichever is sooner.
In response to the resignation announcement by David Romps, Robert P. George of Princeton (who is helping Dorian Abbot host his replacement talk), called it a “powerful statement and act of witness.”
The Post Millennial reached out to David Romps for comment.
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