Jodi Shaw is an award-winning musical artist, single mother, and reluctant activist. Ms. Shaw rose to public prominence in 2021 when—in a series of viral YouTube videos—she blew the whistle on the so-called “social justice” policies that led to the hostile and discriminatory work environment she encountered as an employee of Smith College. Her actions resulted in public denouncement by the college and the loss of her job. She has appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight, Tucker Carlson Today, The Megyn Kelly Show, Epoch Times’ American Thought Leaders, and has been featured (not always positively) in Forbes Magazine, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times. In 2021 she received the Hero of Intellectual Freedom Award from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni and was inducted into the Independent Women’s Forum Champion Women Profile Series. In 2022 Jodi was the subject of Fox News documentary “Jodi Shaw and the Racial Mask of Whiteness.” Click here to learn more about Jodi Shaw.
For her sacrifices and courage to speak out against the corrosive effects of racial practices that reduce individuals to their racial identities, the Columbia Academic Freedom Council is honored to present Dr. Carole Hooven with the 2025 Academic Freedom Award.
