Controversial historian Niall Ferguson resigns from Stanford role amid leaked emails

Historian Niall Ferguson poses for a portrait at the Oxford Literary Festival on April 9, 2011 in Oxford, England. Historian Niall Ferguson poses for a portrait at the Oxford Literary Festival on April 9, 2011 in Oxford, England. Photo: David Levenson/Getty Images Photo: David Levenson/Getty Images Image 1 of / 90 Caption Close Controversial historian Niall Ferguson resigns from Stanford role amid leaked emails 1 / 90 Back to Gallery

Niall Ferguson, a controversial British historian who has been criticized for his support of British imperialism, announced he was resigning from his position with Cardinal Conversations, a speaker series at Stanford University, after leaked emails revealed he asked Republican students to conduct "opposition research" on a left-wing student activist.

Ferguson had a senior leadership role at Cardinal Conversations, which in January drew criticism for inviting "The Bell Curve" author Charles Murray, who is a repeated target of protests for his race-based theories of intelligence.

The leaked emails, which were made public by the Stanford Daily, revealed plans for "opposition research" on Michael Ocon, a progressive activist on campus. The correspondence was between Ferguson, his research assistant Max Minshull, and Stanford College Republicans president John Rice-Cameron, who all refer to Ocon as "Mr. O."

"I very much regret the publication of these emails," Ferguson wrote in a statement to the Stanford Daily. "I also regret having written them."

On Feb. 23, Ferguson wrote to Minshull and Rice-Cameron: "A famous victory. Now we turn to the more subtle game of grinding them down on the committee. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance." He later wrote, "Some opposition research on Mr. O might also be worthwhile."

"I will get on the opposition research for Mr. O," Minshull replied.

Following that email, Ferguson listed the names of Cardinal Conversations' committee members who, he wrote, "should all be allies against O."

"Whatever your past differences, bury them," Ferguson wrote. "Unite against the SJW [social justice warriors.]"

Ferguson was also a subject of scrutiny in March, after he organized a history conference featuring a lineup of 30 white male historians.

Provost Persis Drell told the Stanford Daily that "the emails...were contrary to the spirit and intent of Cardinal Conversations" and that she had accepted Ferguson's offer to resign from his post. Ferguson remains a senior fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution.

In a column for the Sunday Times, Ferguson announced his resignation, the events that led up to the emails, and his decision to "mobilise the college Republicans," writing that he "had no objection to these groups' views being heard, but began to fear they were seeking an effective veto over future events."

"Re-reading my emails now, I am struck by their juvenile, jocular tone," Ferguson wrote. "...None of this happened. The meetings of the student committee were repeatedly postponed. No one ever did any digging on 'Mr O.' The spring vacation arrived. The only thing that came of the emails was that their circulation led to my stepping down."

He concluded his admission with a promise to put his tweed jacket back on and retreat to his beloved study.

"Student politics is best left to students."

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