West Point Fires Its Only Climate Scientist
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- Dr. Adam Kalkstein, a civilian geography professor who taught at West Point for 17 years, was terminated after the spring 2025 semester following a November 2025 meeting with then-dean Brig. Gen. Shane Reeves.
- Kalkstein told Reeves that removing climate content from his curriculum was 'immoral and potentially illegal,' comparing it to teaching law without the Constitution; Reeves allegedly 'stormed out' after saying Trump set West Point's agenda as commander in chief.
- West Point had earlier, in May 2025, offered Kalkstein a 'term employee' role with loss of tenure and severance; he accepted so his colleagues wouldn't have to absorb his classes, according to Stars and Stripes.
- Kalkstein's attorney Michael Sussman described him to The New York Times as a conservative Republican who views truthful climate instruction as a national-security matter, adding 'edicts that he can't say what's true in a classroom' exceeded his tolerance.
- Tim Bakken, West Point's longest-serving law professor, filed a parallel lawsuit over a Trump-era policy requiring pre-approval for publications; West Point dropped its challenge to a preliminary injunction this month and agreed in principle to a permanent resolution.
- Kalkstein's suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses West Point of breaching his First Amendment rights; Reeves retired in April after 30 years and now chairs the University of Wyoming board of trustees.
Why it matters: The firing removes West Point's sole climate-science instructor — a self-identified conservative who argued climate literacy is a national-security issue — and follows a second successful legal challenge to Trump-era academic restrictions at the academy, giving civilian faculty a concrete precedent for resisting curriculum edicts at West Point.
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