Chancellor's letter to media: 'Brown doesn't speak for university'

Chancellor Harvey Perlman wrote a letter to media clarifying the university's position on anti-discrimination in response to questions and concerns voiced to him following a public meeting in Omaha this week. Here is his letter verbatim:

"The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska has made it clear that the university does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. And only the board can speak on university policy and practices. Recently Ron Brown, a Nebraska football coach, talked before the Omaha City Council in opposition to an ordinance that would ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Several people have written me asking if his remarks represent the position of the university. I want to be clear that they do not. The university defends the right of its faculty and students to participate in public dialogue and to express their personal views. I understand that there were also faculty and students from the university who testified in favor of the ordinance.

We do ask individuals associated with the university to make it clear in their public statements that they are speaking only as an individual, and not on behalf of the university. Unfortunately in this instance Coach Brown did not make it clear in his comments that he was asserting his personal viewpoint and not representing the university. I have asked him to make that clarification explicitly in the future."

- Harvey Perlman, chancellor
University of Nebraska-Lincoln