Duke professor under fire for refusing to attend 'Maoist' diversity training A professor at the Duke University School of Medicine is under fire after he blasted a mandatory equity training as "Maoist political propaganda" and refused to attend. Bryan Cullen, a professor of molecular genetics and microbiology, drew the ire of several doctoral students after he announced to his department that he would not take part in the medical school's mandatory training put on by the Office of Institutional Equity, according to a report by the Duke Chronicle. "My initial reaction is I refuse to engage in left-wing Maoist political propaganda workshops and, as a tenured faculty, that is my choice,” Cullen reportedly said in an email reply to the announcement of the training. ________________________________ The purpose of tenure is to guarantee academic freedom in the face of political repression.