INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (AP) _ Purdue University President Mitch Daniels said he never tried to quash academic freedom while serving as Indiana’s governor, and is criticizing an Associated Press report citing emails in which he opposed use of a book by antiwar activist Howard Zinn.
Emails published Tuesday by the AP show Daniels tried to ensure Zinn’s book was not used in Indiana’s K-12 and college classrooms, and that he worked to “disqualify the propaganda” he said was being taught to teachers in training at Indiana’s colleges.
Daniels on Wednesday told reporters at Purdue the story was “unfair and erroneous.”
He had previously told AP he was only referring to Zinn’s book appearing in K-12 classrooms, and did not immediately reply to questions from AP on Wednesday about what he found to be in error.