As students, faculty, staff, and community members, we condemn the UW’s unjust removal of Professor Aria Fani as the Director of the UW Middle East Center (MEC) on March 27, 2026. Professor Fani is a longtime advocate for students and fellow colleagues, and brings invaluable knowledge and experience to our community. Professor Fani’s removal is a symptom of the rise in academic repression across the U.S., which the UW should be combatting, not accelerating.

Moreover, this firing represents a concerning example of the UW administration and the Jackson School of International Studies (JSIS) throwing community members of color under the bus rather than protecting them against threats. Professor Fani, who is Iranian and teaches Persian and Iranian Studies, was fired for being critical of the U.S. and Israeli-led war in Iran in emails to the MEC’s listserv. Rather than offer support or protection for Professor Fani amidst him being doxxed and harassed, the Jackson School and the UW chose to terminate his position as Director of the MEC.

It is worrying that the decision to fire Professor Fani came days after UW President Robert Jones attended a 90-minute off-campus Breakfast and Town Hall event moderated by right-wing agitator Ari Hoffman on March 22, 2026. The event incited fear among Arab, Muslim, and Jewish community members, as well as public outcry, because A. Hoffman has a history of directly threatening members of the UW community. A. Hoffman has repeatedly used xenophobic, Islamophobic, and transphobic language, and has doxxed multiple UW community members for supporting beliefs he does not agree with.

At this event, A. Hoffman used facetious, discriminatory, and hateful language to attack Professor Fani and the MEC. A. Hoffman provided no evidence for his attacks, but President Jones did not push back on A. Hoffman’s assertions, and instead, has seemingly acted upon A. Hoffman’s claims. Engaging in dialogue with A. Hoffman appears connected to the removal of Fani, and reveals which voices the UW is willing to hear. For the UW President to sit down with someone who has threatened UW community members, while refusing to meet with students and faculty members requesting meetings, signals a lack of respect for our voices. Worse, for President Jones to accept baseless attacks against UW faculty as fact, and to punish faculty for personal views demonstrates a conscious disregard for our freedom and safety.

Thus far, President Jones and his administration have failed to uphold his stated ideal of “dialogue across differences.” Instead, the Administration is violating academic freedom and silencing the campus community in favor of right-wing agitators. The UW prides itself on being a place of voice, agency, and academic freedom; yet, there is an emerging pattern of repressing and silencing students and faculty who express disagreement with the university. Going forward, the UW must stop engaging in political repression and work to listen to and address the community’s concerns.

As students, faculty, staff, and community members of the University of Washington, we call for:
- President Jones to attend a publicly-accessible town hall moderated by community-chosen UW faculty on the topic of “Addressing Community Safety, Political Repression, and Academic Freedom at the UW” by the end of the Spring 2026 quarter.
- The Jackson School of International Studies to immediately reinstate Professor Fani as Director of the MEC.
- Chair of JSIS Daniel Hoffman to release a statement clarifying the reason for Professor Fani’s dismissal and the department’s policy on free speech by April 21, 2026.
- Chair D. Hoffman to release a statement reaffirming faculty’s rights to academic freedom and free speech by April 21, 2026.