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West Point professor says he was pushed out for objecting to climate directive
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC. Gothamist Listen Live Donate News West Point professor says he was pushed out for objecting to climate directive By Ryan Kost Published Aug 26, 2026 at 4:32 p.m. ET
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A former tenured professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point says the school ordered faculty to stop teaching about anthropogenic, or human-caused, climate change, then pushed him out after he objected, according to a federal lawsuit.
Adam Kalkstein, a geography and climate science professor at West Point for more than 17 years, filed the suit against the academy and three members of its leadership in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday. He is asking the court to reinstate his tenure and award him damages for actions he alleges violated his First Amendment rights.
The order to stop teaching about human-caused climate change came during a September 2025 meeting of the geography program. According to the lawsuit, faculty were told to “remove all mention of human causes of climate change from their courses.” They were also warned that if they went to the press or to politicians, “the entire department would likely be dissolved.”
Michael Sussman, Kalkstein’s attorney, said his client repeatedly asked for the policy on paper but, as far as he knows, “they put nothing in writing.” The closest thing, Sussman said, was a presentation a colleague would later prepare to show West Point leadership that the department was complying with the directive.
However, Sussman shared with Gothamist a letter that Kalkstein had written to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the days after the order. In the letter dated Sept. 22, 2025, Kalkstein writes that the U.S. Service Academies, which includes West Point, located north of New York City, have “been given a direct order to immediately cease teaching our students about human-caused climate change.”
Kalkstein goes on to criticize the prior administration for taking “exaggerated positions” that “politicized the field of climate science.” He notes that research does not support claims that climate change is the biggest — and potentially existential — threat facing all nations. Still, he argues that anthropogenic climate change has a “very real, very measurable, and very important impact on national security” and that it should be studied closely.
“For the sake of our remarkable students and our wonderful military institutions, I urge you to reconsider this order,” Kalkstein wrote.
The letter was never sent. Sussman said his client was never able to get it through the chain of command.
Though Kalkstein, who had given up his tenured position that fall due to a reduction in force and had been teaching as a term employee, complied with the new rules. He continued to raise objections, including with the academy’s inspector general and legal office, according to his lawsuit. Kalkstein also attempted to bring his concerns to the dean, but was blocked by his department head, he alleges.
Eventually, however, he got his chance. On Nov. 5, 2025, then-Dean Shane Reeves met with the geography department, according to the suit. Near the end, one of Kalkstein’s colleagues presented a PowerPoint outlining the department’s compliance with the new directive.
Kalkstein then read aloud a statement, quoted in the lawsuit and shared with Gothamist. He described how he’d had to physically cover the word “anthropogenic” from figures taken from scientific articles.
“I just got out of climatology class, and it’s a struggle,” the statement reads. “It’s not a college-level course. It’s not even a high school course. Not because it isn’t rigorous; it is. But because we’re leaving out essential information. We’re only telling cadets part of the story. We’re lying to them, deceiving them.”
Reeves, who now serves as the president of the University of Wyoming, reacted angrily, according to the lawsuit. He suggested Kalkstein resign from his position before he “stormed out of the meeting, again threatening the entire Department if its members did not comply,” the suit reads.
A spokesperson for the University of Wyoming referred all questions about the issue to West Point. A West Point spokesperson said the academy was aware of the allegations and takes them seriously, but had nothing to add.
Six months later, Kalkstein was told that his contract would not be renewed past December 2026. A department head cited Kalkstein’s “poor character and temperament,” according to the lawsuit, though Kalkstein asserts that there was no such sentiment in “17 years of glowing evaluations.”
This is the second faculty speech case against the academy in a year. Law professor Tim Bakken won an injunction in May against West Point rules that required faculty to seek approval from leadership before publishing papers and speaking at conferences.. The government did not contest the ruling.
Ryan Kost is a reporter on the day-of news desk, where he covers breaking news and writes enterprise stories about jails, courts, prosecutors and government accountability. His work focuses on the public institutions that shape life in New York. Before joining the newsroom, he lead a multi-part investigation with Columbia Journalism Investigations and New York Focus into how New York prosecutors handle wrongful conviction claims. He's also been a staff writer at The San Francisco Chronicle, The Associated Press and The Oregonian. Got a tip? Signal: ryankost.20
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