Politics
Former West Point professor sues academy over dismissal after climate curriculum dispute
A civilian geography professor alleges he was fired for resisting an order to stop teaching the human causes of climate change.
The short version
- Dr. Adam Kalkstein, a civilian geography professor and West Point's only climate scientist, has filed a federal lawsuit alleging his First Amendment rights were violated when he was fired after the spring semester.
- The lawsuit claims Kalkstein was terminated after objecting to an academic directive to stop teaching about human-caused climate change, which he argued was immoral and potentially illegal.
- This represents the second recent lawsuit challenging academic freedom policies at the military academy, following a separate challenge by law professor Tim Bakken over faculty speech restrictions.
Key facts
- Dr. Adam Kalkstein, a 17-year veteran professor of geography and West Point's only climate scientist, was fired following the spring semester.[The Guardian]
- Kalkstein filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging his dismissal violated his First Amendment rights to free speech.[The Guardian]
- The lawsuit claims that in November 2025, Kalkstein told then-dean Brig. Gen. Shane Reeves that an order to remove human causes of climate change from the curriculum was immoral and potentially illegal.[The Guardian]
- According to the lawsuit, Reeves responded to Kalkstein's objection by stating that Donald Trump was commander-in-chief and set the academy's agenda, before storming out of the meeting.[The Guardian]
- West Point stated it is aware of the allegations and takes them seriously, but declined to comment further on the active lawsuit.[The Guardian]