West Point professor fired for refusing to omit human causes of climate change files lawsuit

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West Point Professor Fired for Refusing to Ignore Human Causes of Climate Change, Files Federal Lawsuit

Publication Date: August 27, 2026

A tenured science professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, claims he was fired for refusing to omit the human causes of climate change from his curriculum. He is now suing the institution in federal court.

Dr. Adam Kalkstein, a professor of geography, told The New York Times that Brigadier General Shane Reeves, the dean of West Point’s academic board, ordered him last year to remove all references to human contributions to climate change. According to Kalkstein, Reeves stated that President Trump, as commander in chief, sets the agenda on the issue. Kalkstein argued that such a change would be immoral and potentially illegal. When Reeves suggested Kalkstein resign, he declined, and the dean reportedly left the room.

“We’re only telling cadets part of the story. We’re lying to them, deceiving them. It would be like trying to teach the law without being able to even mention the Constitution,” Kalkstein reportedly said during the meeting, according to Stars and Stripes.

Six months later, Kalkstein—a tenured professor—was informed his contract would not be renewed. On Monday, he filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York, alleging that his First Amendment rights were violated. The lawsuit states that the institution’s order would require Kalkstein “to omit a massive, fundamental, essential component of the court and to defy science.”

According to The New York Times, Kalkstein is a conservative Republican who believes military cadets must understand the truth about climate change for national security reasons, not social justice. He wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arguing that understanding the causes of climate change is critical for competing over resources in the Arctic and for understanding why sea ice is melting.

Hegseth, along with the broader Trump administration, is working to purge “wokeness” from government and military institutions, including any acknowledgment of climate change. Early in his tenure last year, Hegseth posted on X: “The @DeptofDefense does not do climate change crap. We do training and warfighting.”

This marks a significant departure from previous administrations. In 2021, the Pentagon concluded in a report that “increasing temperatures; changing precipitation patterns; and more frequent, intense, and unpredictable extreme weather conditions caused by climate change are exacerbating existing risks.”

Those risks remain, but the Trump administration is ignoring the science for financial and culture-war reasons. Professors like Kalkstein—and the education of America’s future military officers—are among the casualties.

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