Tulane scientist resigns, citing 'gag order' on environmental justice research
Source: Floodlight co-published with the Guardian
Tulane scientist resigns, citing ‘gag order’ on environmental justice research
Emails show a racial disparities study angered elected Louisiana officials and potential donors to a $600 million university-led redevelopment project
Terry L. Jones/Floodlight
Jun 12, 2025 — 6 min read
Environmental advocates are questioning the actions of a private university in Louisiana following the resignation of a scientist who researches the health and job disparities in a heavily industrialized part of Louisiana known as “Cancer Alley.”
Kimberly Terrell, who served as a director of community engagement and a staff scientist with Tulane University’s Environmental Law Clinic, accused university leaders of trying to censor the work she’s doing to spotlight the harms to local communities plagued by industrial pollution.
Terrell said her research in collaboration with Floodlight highlighting job disparities in hiring at local petrochemical facilities triggered a backlash from state and university leaders. That led to her being put under an “‘unprecedented gag order” by the dean of the university’s law school, Terrell said in a prepared statement issued by a group calling itself the Louisiana Alliance to Defend Democracy.
Terrell resigned from the New Orleans-based university on Wednesday, saying she would rather leave her position than have her work used as a pretext “to dismantle” the law clinic.
-snip-
Read more: https://floodlightnews.org/tulane-scientist-resigns-citing-gag-order-on-environmental-justice-research/
Alternate link: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/13/tulane-university-scientist-resign