A Hofstra University political science professor says he has spent nearly a year under investigation after a colleague accused him of racial discrimination over his use of the phrase “word salad.”
Professor Richard Himelfarb used the term during a Nov. 3, 2025, faculty meeting focused on proposed new courses at the private Long Island university.
According to Himelfarb, the dispute began when Santiago Slabodsky, chair of Hofstra’s Jewish Studies program, proposed that two courses — one examining conspiracy theories and another linking religion to “revolutionary movements in Latin America” — be offered through his department, he told The Post.
Himelfarb said five professors raised objections to the proposal, after which Slabodsky allegedly delivered a lengthy, wandering response that highlighted his professional credentials but failed to address their concerns.
Following the exchange, Himelfarb challenged his colleague’s remarks, saying, “That is complete word salad; I don’t understand a thing Professor Slabodsky said.”
The following day, Slabodsky — an Argentina native — filed a complaint against Himelfarb, claiming the phrase “word salad” mocked his accent and South American background.
“Dr. Richard Himelfarb, who dismissed my detailed explanations by saying that he could not understand ‘the word salad’ of what I was saying, impugning not only my language ability but also my sense and clarity,” Slabodsky wrote in the complaint provided to The Post.
By mid-February, Hofstra Human Resources Vice President Denise Cunningham informed Himelfarb that the university had found “reasonable cause” to believe he had disparaged Slabodsky’s ethnicity, triggering a formal investigation.
“I wake up every day and this cloud is hovering over me, I spend hours every day responding to emails, talking with lawyers, attending hearings,” Himelfarb said.
Himelfarb offered to apologize, and Slabodsky demanded that he make a public apology, which the political science professor said he was willing to do. But when Slabodsky was shown the text of the mea culpa by Cunningham, he rejected the apology.
The case was kicked up to the University Harassment Board, an ad-hoc committee that would have the power to recommend the university president Dr. Susan Poser fire Himelfarb despite his tenured status, he said.
In May, he retained help from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) Foundation, a free speech advocacy organization, and the Academic Freedom Alliance, which is providing him with a lawyer. Slabodsky filed a second complaint after Himelfarb retained outside help in his case, alleging retaliation.
The Catastrophic Politics author said he’s not looking to sue or retaliate and only retained legal counsel after losing faith in the administration’s ability to handle his case appropriately.
Himelfarb told The Post he believes he’s being targeted for being a conservative and said that the point of the probe was intended create a chilling effect to prevent professors from questioning their woke colleagues.
“Would any faculty member want to talk about anything controversial knowing that it’s going to go on and on and on like this,” he asked.
“There has been no disciplinary action taken, and the matter is proceeding in accordance with Hofstra University’s established processes. First Amendment considerations are highly context specific. We have no further comment at this time,” Hofstra University spokesperson Terry Coniglio said.
Slabodsky did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
