Bari Weiss Helps Create New University Of Austin, Welcomes 'Witches Who Refuse To Burn'

Announced on Twitter Monday, journalist and former New York Times opinion editor Bari Weiss is helping to create the University of Austin.

“We’re building a university dedicated to the fearless pursuit of truth,” reads the opening page for The University's website.

Weiss announced the formation of the University on her Twitter and substack Common Sense with an article written by Pano Kanelos. Kanelos is the former president of St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, and now serves as founding president of the University of Austin.

Kanelos is one of many other professors, academics, university presidents, and journalists who have joined as advisors or professors in the effort. However, the University is not yet on a list of higher-education institutions allowed to operate in the state of Texas, but there is an address listed on the University’s home page.

“...We are done waiting for the legacy universities to right themselves. And so we are building anew,” Kanelos writes for the substack. “We are a dedicated crew that grows by the day. Our backgrounds and experiences are diverse; our political views differ. What unites us is a common dismay at the state of modern academia and a recognition that we can no longer wait for the cavalry. And so we must be the cavalry.”

The substack goes on to say accuse popular universities of restricting freedom of speech and threatening employees with different views that do not align with liberal values. Weiss launched her newsletter Common Sense earlier this year.

“It is time to restore the meaning to those old school mottos. Light. Truth. The wind of freedom. You will find all three at our new university in Austin,” Kanelos writes.

Weiss has experience with being criticized for her opinions. She announced her departure from the Times in 2020 after helping publish a highly controversial op-ed by Senator Tom Cotton. In the piece, Cotton called for the deployment of soldiers to end protests throughout the country against police brutality and racial injustice. Weiss said she was chastised by her colleagues as a result.

In a note on her website announcing her departure, she accused the news organization of “unlawful discrimination, hostile work environment, and constructive discharge.”