Following Michael Mann’s resignation from his role as Penn's vice provost for climate science, policy, and action, The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke to several members of the University community about potential implications for future climate efforts and free speech.
Mann announced his departure from the role on Sept. 29, citing tension between his science policy advocacy work and Penn’s institutional neutrality policy, which prevents the University and its leaders from making public statements in response to external events. In interviews with the DP, Penn students and faculty members expressed admiration for Mann’s leadership in the role and concern over the future of climate discourse at the University.
In his recently published book — titled “Science Under Siege” — Mann criticized what he described as the Trump administration’s propagation of misinformation and disinformation around science and climate change. He further alleged that the federal government has created an “anti-science movement.”
“I simply could not promote the book and meet the letter of Penn’s neutrality policy at the same time,” Mann wrote in a statement to the DP. “I had to choose between my public outreach and my role as VPC. I chose the former.”
A University spokesman wrote in a statement to the DP that Provost John Jackson will “move quickly” to appoint a new vice provost for climate science, policy, and action. The exact timeline and list of potential candidates have not been released at the time of publication.
Mann remains a professor at Penn, and is the director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media.
Penn Climate — the broader initiative encompassing the Office of the Vice Provost for Climate Science, Policy, and Action — will be overseen by Executive Director Stephen Decina and Vice Provost for Research David Meaney until a permanent replacement for Mann’s former role is found.
Decina reflected on the resignation, saying that Mann “built excitement and consensus” during his time leading Penn Climate.
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“He’s a good man. … He’s been in the climate game for a long time, and I think he knows best where he can be most useful,” Decina said. “I was chagrined to see him step down, but I understood it, and I trust him.”
According to Mann, there was “no pressure” from the University to step down — it was a decision he made independently.
“I’d had discussions with [Jackson] early on when I first took the VP position and we both recognized that there would be a challenge for me to navigate this university-level administrative role given the topic of my forthcoming book, the university’s recently announced policy of institutional neutrality, and the contentious current political environment for climate,” Mann wrote.
Graduate School of Education professor Jonathan Zimmerman expressed concern about the implications of Mann’s resignation on how the Penn community interprets institutional neutrality. Zimmerman argued that the policy could restrict the ability of administrators to express their views.
“Unless you’re the President, I don’t think you speak for the entire institution,” Zimmerman said in an interview with the DP. “There are hundreds of administrators. Is the implication of Michael Mann’s decision that none of them should ever take a public position on a contested question, because that would violate our commitment to institutional neutrality?”
Pharmacology Ph.D. candidate Rose Albert shared similar concerns about Mann’s resignation, especially regarding the application of institutional neutrality to science-based advocacy — which she described as “inherently political.”
“I think it is challenging to expect people to have this facade of neutrality when we do know that science is political,” Albert told the DP. “In the sense that these policies shape the federal landscape and our ability to do science, and also our ability to translate that science into evidence-based practice.”
Albert also reflected on the broader implications of Penn’s institutional neutrality policy for administrators.
“I think it’s challenging because it does place people who are in these administrative roles … that have this expertise and the power to lend that expertise on important current policy issues, in a place where they are now having to step down or alter the type of public scholarship they want to pursue,” Albert said.
According to bioengineering Ph.D. candidate Miles Arnett, science has historically received funding support from both sides of the political spectrum. However, Arnett said this practice has changed with the Trump administration’s push to reduce federal science funding.
“If it becomes impossible to speak on scientific issues because they break a partisan neutrality policy, it really makes it harder for University administrators to do their job which is to preserve the science funding that is coming to the University," Arnett said.
He added that science becoming a partisan issue could threaten national support for what was once considered a resource for the “common good,” emphasizing the need for more effective science communication.
Arnett also voiced his concerns as someone entering a career in science in the current political climate.
“Even if you are able to get a job — for example, Michael Mann has his job here as a prominent scientist at Penn — you still have to be really careful about the things you say, for risk of drawing ire and unwanted attention,” Arnett said. “That just makes it harder for you to actually do good science.”
Earth and Environmental Science professor Leigh Stearns praised Mann for stepping down in order to continue his climate advocacy work, which included being “blunt and upfront” about the individuals advocating against climate policy.
“It became clear that [Mann] couldn’t easily balance a politically-neutral Vice Provost position with his public climate work. Sadly, in these times, those two positions are mutually exclusive,” Stearns wrote in a statement to the DP. “So, while I’m personally sad that he won't be leading Penn’s climate efforts in this role, I admire him for making this hard decision.”
