Jukka Savolainen, a criminal justice and sociology professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, has publicly joined a growing coalition of academics working to restore objectivity and open inquiry to the social sciences. While Savolainen identifies as a Democrat and says he’s never voted for a Republican, he’s openly challenging the progressive orthodoxy that has come to dominate his field.

“The idea is that political opinion shouldn’t cloud the pursuit of truth,” Savolainen told Fox News Digital. “We have good evidence this mission has been lost over the decades, and we want to restore the traditional values of objective inquiry and truth.”

Savolainen is now the sociology lead for the Heterodox Academy, a network of scholars committed to fighting groupthink and fostering viewpoint diversity. He’s also one of the signatories of The Buckingham Manifesto for a Post-Progressive Social Science, a statement calling for new universities, think tanks, and academic initiatives that prioritize open debate, evidence-based research, and intellectual pluralism.

Led by political scientist Eric Kaufmann, the manifesto rejects the “monoculture” of progressive ideology that critics say has politicized scholarship. Kaufmann notes that while opponents may label all signatories as conservative, the real common thread is a shared commitment to the scientific method and truth-seeking, regardless of political affiliation.

Savolainen’s break with the prevailing academic culture isn’t new. In 2023, while Florida considered removing sociology from its core curriculum, he penned a Wall Street Journal op-ed warning that the discipline had shifted from scientific study to “academic advocacy for left-wing causes.” He says many other professors quietly agree but fear professional backlash.

Among those signing the manifesto are figures across the spectrum — from conservative activist Christopher Rufo to liberal Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker — as well as academics from Canada, the UK, Italy, Turkey, and Argentina. Savolainen sees the coalition as proof that concern over ideological capture transcends party lines.

“I’m not leftist in this identitarian-social justice perspective,” he explained. “I’m not in favor of the gender ideology that pushes unscientific or biologically incorrect agendas about sex differences. And I oppose dividing people by race and identity.”

Savolainen describes the current problem as “illiberal progressivism” — a mindset within parts of academia that, in his view, suppresses dissenting viewpoints under the guise of preventing harm. He argues this censorship undermines the foundational academic principles of free inquiry and debate.

The manifesto is more than an academic statement — Savolainen hopes it signals to policymakers that not all social scientists support the status quo. “It’s signaling to politicians that there is a healthy group of social scientists who agree on the problems of ideological bias,” he said. “If there’s political effort to build and reform universities along these lines, we’re ready to participate.”

His willingness to speak out could make him a lightning rod in a profession where progressive ideology is deeply entrenched. But Savolainen says restoring intellectual diversity isn’t just about politics — it’s about protecting the credibility of science itself.

In a time when universities face growing public distrust, his challenge to wokeness could spark a broader debate over whether higher education can — or will — return to its mission of unbiased truth-seeking. The question now is whether others in his field will join him in breaking the silence.