The director of one of the country's top faculties for atmospheric and climate research resigned on Monday in protest at his university's refusal to hear a speech by another top scientist, censured for his political views.
David Romps was the director of Berkeley Atmospheric Sciences Center (BASC), in California.
He resigned after Berkeley refused to invite Dorian Abbot to speak on campus.
Abbot, an associate professor at the University of Chicago's department of geophysical sciences, was due to deliver a prestigious lecture at MIT on 'new results in climate science'. But he found out that the October 21 lecture had been called off after protest at his views.
Abbot posted several videos on YouTube last year denouncing the rioting in Chicago that erupted in the wake of the murder by a Minneapolis policeman of George Floyd.
He also argued that students should be given the same opportunities and marked on their academic merit, rather than equity - equality of outcomes.
Romps, angered by Abbot being disinvited from MIT, suggested to his own university that they allow Abbot to deliver his lecture there instead.
David Romps, the director of Berkeley Atmospheric Sciences Center (BASC), resigned on Monday after the California university refused to invite another scientist to give a speech, after the scientist expressed controversial views
Romps wanted Dorian Abbot to be allowed to address his university, Berkeley (pictured)
Princeton University took the same step, and on Thursday Abbot will speak at the New Jersey institution's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions.
But at Berkeley, Romps met resistance.
Dorian Abbot, a professor at the University of Chicago, was invited to deliver a talk at MIT on October 21 - only to have the invitation rescinded when students began to protest
'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,' Romps explained on Twitter.
'In the ensuing discussion among the BASC faculty, it became unclear to me whether we could invite that scientist ever again, let alone now.
'I was hoping we could agree that BASC does not consider an individual's political or social opinions when selecting speakers for its events, except for cases in which the opinions give a reasonable expectation that members of our community would be treated with disrespect.
'Unfortunately, it is unclear when or if we might reach agreement on this point.'
Romps said he felt strongly that Berkeley denying Abbot the right to speak about science because of his political views was disturbing, and harmful to their scientific work.
'The stated mission of BASC is to serve as "the hub for UC Berkeley's research on the science of the atmosphere, its interactions with Earth systems, and the future of Earth's climate," he explained.
At first glance, 'equity' and 'equality' appear to be synonymous when looking up the terms in the dictionary.
According to Merriam-Webster, 'equitable' means 'dealing fairly and equally with all concerned' while 'equal' means 'of the same measure, quantity, amount, or number as another.'
But the social justice movement in the United States uses the terms to mean different things.
Whereas 'equality' means giving everyone the exact same resources, 'equity' means distributing resources based on the needs of the recipients.
Critics of the phrase equity - which is often used by President Biden - say it is used by modern supporters to push for an equality of outcomes.
They say that equality - which means giving everyone the same opportunity - is a fairer way of doing things.
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'I believe that mission has its greatest chance of success when the tent is made as big as possible, including with respect to ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion,
