A University of Alabama earth sciences professor said he is quitting over what he called the “rise of illiberalism” and a push for diversity, equity and inclusion that he said ultimately harms students in a tweetstorm that went viral.

While Matthew Wielicki said his main reason for leaving Tuscaloosa was to be closer to family in Colorado, the “rise of illiberalism” made his decision easier.

“The rise of illiberalism in the name of DEI is the antithesis of the principles that universities were founded on,” Wielicki tweeted Monday. “These are no longer places that embrace the freedom of exchanging ideas and will punish those that go against the narrative.”

UA sent AL.com the following statement:

“The University of Alabama is committed to academic freedom, free speech, and open scientific inquiry for all members of our campus. As an institution of higher education, the University encourages civil discourse and the exchange of numerous and varying perspectives. We offer a wide variety of intellectual opportunities and encourage students to form their own opinions and beliefs. Faculty earn opportunities at the University according to the merit of their work. We have no comment on specific faculty employment decisions or outcomes.”

Wielicki told Fox News in an interview after his tweets went viral that “every decision in academia is framed in this lens of diversity, equity and inclusion, from students to the funding of grants,”

Although the earth sciences professor said colleges need more diversity and administrators’ “hearts are in the right place,” DEI goes against Martin Luther King’s wish for people to be judged by their character.

“That’s not what we’re doing in academia anymore,” he told Fox News. “It’s discouraging a lot of people. I think [DEI] is increasing minorities, but i think in the outcomes we see, its not having a positive effect.”

For example, when it comes to minorities who pursue STEM fields in college, “we don’t see that they’re being hried into the industry and into the fields coming out of the universities — the outcomes of these students are not getting better,” he said.

Wielicki claimed that DEI “has become some way of universities trying to build up their virtue signaling by the number of minority students without really concern whether those students are being successful once they leave those universities, and I think that’s the opposite of what we should be thinking about when we teach our students.”

The professor also said the “constant catastrophism” concerning climate change is “robbing” his students’ ambition, adding that some told him they no longer plan on having families because it would a burden on the world.

Wielicki said his speaking out amounted to “career suicide,” but hoped that his remarks and others like him “evokes more discussion, talking about outcomes and possible unforeseen consequences.”

“Just asking questions, having discussions, now makes you a heretic,” he said, “and we no longer have these discussions.”