After more than 10 years as the first African American male tenured full professor at the University of Idaho, Dr. Sydney Freeman Jr. has made the difficult decision to step away from his position at the end of next semester. The departure marks the end of a transformative chapter for both Freeman and the institution, driven by concerns over safety, political climate, and the evolving landscape of higher education.
Dr. Sydney Freeman Jr.
"I came in on the end of the wave of Obama being in as president," Freeman said in a recent interview with Diverse. At the time, institutional leaders were eager to avoid being "on the wrong side of history," and Freeman was able to negotiate favorable terms for his position, including his rank, salary, his wife's faculty position at the medical school, and even a journal.
"I've never been an assistant professor," Freeman noted, having transitioned directly to an associate professor rank from Tuskegee University, where he was the director of the Teaching and Learning Center. The University of Idaho, he acknowledges, provided him with a platform to make significant contributions to the academy.
During his tenure, Freeman—whose research focuses on the challenges in higher education administration programs, the faculty career cycle and the leadership at historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)—established several groundbreaking initiatives, including the Journal for the Study of Postsecondary and Tertiary Education, the Black History Research Lab, and the Black Research Institute for Flourishing and Thriving. He also led in the creation of the national award-winning UI Black and African American Cultural Center and authored a book highlighting Black contributions to the university. In 2021, at the age of 36, he became the first African American male to be promoted to full professor in the history of the University of Idaho—no small feat.
However, the environment that welcomed Freeman in 2015 has shifted dramatically. Living just three blocks from where the tragic University of Idaho student murders occurred, Freeman and his wife have navigated an increasingly challenging landscape. The presence of controversial figures like Doug Wilson, head of Christ Church, along with targeting from outside groups like the Idaho Freedom Foundation, created mounting pressures.
"We've navigated that space," Freeman said, referring to the various challenges that often impact people of color and specifically African Americans in a state like Idaho. "However, more recently when there has been more direct targeting of faculty of color... it's really important for us to make a decision about what our next steps should be."
