Talk:Jody Freeman

Include Lobbying infomation

https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2023-04-06/harvard-climate-professor-lobbied-regulator-on-behalf-of-oil-giant

Should this information be included in more detail? 80.4.8.147 (talk) 17:34, 1 May 2023 (UTC)

• Yeah it should have been. it is now.--Wuerzele (talk) 23:24, 3 September 2023 (UTC)

Early life and education request

Hello! On behalf of Jody Freeman, and as part of my work at Beutler Ink, I will be submitting a series of edit requests in an attempt to improve this Wikipedia article, which has a significant amount of unsourced content, as well as some biased text and missing details about her career. I'll be posting requests here for others to review and implement on my behalf, and I will not edit the article directly.

Eventually, I also hope to address the "advert" tag, which was added in April.

I'd like to start with a request for the Early life and education section, which is completely unsourced.

Here's a copy of the current text:

• Freeman grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, and graduated from Stanford University (B.A., 1985), where she majored in human biology and played varsity volleyball, the University of Toronto (LL.B. 1989), and Harvard Law School (LL.M. 1991; SJD 1995).

I propose replacing with the following sourced text:

• Freeman was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she attended Eric Hamber Secondary School. She played volleyball at Stanford University, and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985. She received a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Toronto in 1989, followed by Master of Laws and Doctor of Juridical Science degrees from Harvard Law School in 1991 and 1995, respectively.

References

This is essentially the same information, with added mention of Eric Hamber and without degree abbreviations. If editors consider this an improvement, can someone update the article appropriately? Cheers! BINK Robin (talk) 21:25, 11 October 2023 (UTC)

Not done for now Secondary schooling and undergraduate degrees are not typically mentioned in BLP articles. I would suggest revising this request to eliminate those elements. Regards,  Spintendo  21:49, 11 October 2023 (UTC)

User:Spintendo, I see those facts (or factoids) all over Wikipedia; I see no reason really to exclude them. Drmies (talk) 21:30, 14 November 2023 (UTC)

I see your point. Notwithstanding what Wikipedia may think certain degrees are, no one outside of academia really views Bachelor's degrees as anything other than an undergraduate degree. That would put in in the same category as an associates degree, which I'm sure you don't see much of in BLP articles due to its non-relevance. IMO, the mentioning of undergraduate degrees is as unnecessary as mentioning a high school diploma, but maybe I'm ahead of the curve here. Regards,  Spintendo  23:04, 25 November 2023 (UTC)

Reply

Thanks for reviewing. I have revised based on feedback. Spintendo, would the following text work for you?

• Freeman was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. She played volleyball at Stanford University, graduating in 1985. She received a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Toronto in 1989, followed by Master of Laws and Doctor of Juridical Science degrees from Harvard Law School in 1991 and 1995, respectively.

References

Cheers! BINK Robin (talk) 22:00, 11 October 2023 (UTC)

An undergraduate degree still remains in the requested text. Regards,  Spintendo  22:45, 11 October 2023 (UTC)

Reply

Whoops! Spintendo, would the following text work for you?

• Freeman was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. She played volleyball at Stanford University, graduating in 1985. Freeman also attended the University of Toronto, graduating in 1989. She earned Master of Laws and Doctor of Juridical Science degrees from Harvard Law School in 1991 and 1995, respectively.

References

Cheers! BINK Robin (talk) 23:22, 11 October 2023 (UTC)

@BINK Robin The claim regarding the University of Toronto, where the subject received an undergraduate degree, is still present in the requested text.  Spintendo  00:46, 12 October 2023 (UTC)

Reply

Sorry for the confusion, Spintendo. I thought you meant to remove details about the degrees, not the institutions from which she graduated. I'm not understanding why we would mention Stanford, but not the University of Toronto, especially because this would present a gap.

I would expect Wikipedia biographies to have undergraduate details (even Template:Infobox person's Education parameter allows degree, institution, and graduation year), and I would be interested in learning more about which educational background details should be included in biographies on Wikipedia, if any help pages come to mind. Either way, if the University of Toronto should not be mentioned, then would the following text work for you?

• Freeman was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. She played volleyball at Stanford University, graduating in 1985. She earned Master of Laws and Doctor of Juridical Science degrees from Harvard Law School in 1991 and 1995, respectively.

References

Cheers! BINK Robin (talk) 15:35, 12 October 2023 (UTC)

Approved I would expect Wikipedia biographies to have undergraduate details That expectation would be incorrect; MOS:DEGREE states Academic (including honorary) degrees and professional qualifications may be mentioned in the article. A bachelor's is not an academic degree. Regards,  Spintendo  17:13, 12 October 2023 (UTC)

@Spintendo: I appreciate you sharing that section from the MOS. For what it's worth, the article academic degrees clearly includes bachelor's degrees. I have asked for further clarification over at WikiProject Biographies (see here), and invite you to share your thoughts in the discussion there. Thanks again for your help. BINK Robin (talk) 17:55, 12 October 2023 (UTC)

Belatedly following up, brought in from WP:BLPN. MOS:DEGREE says that you shouldn't use a degree as part of the subjects name, nor should it generally be part of the lede. It is usual in biographies of academics on Wikipedia to include a brief summary of their education, including undergrad. Sourcing to her webpage or CV is ok for this kind of routine information, per WP:BLPSPS. I'll go ahead and add the degree to the article, and fix the broken link to the faculty profile while I am at it. I don't think that she played volleyball belongs in the article, unless _possibly_ that has some substantial coverage somewhere. Russ Woodroofe (talk) 14:09, 15 October 2023 (UTC)

@Russ Woodroofe: Thanks for weighing in here and for updating the article. I am submitting another request below, if you're interested in a similar request I have for the Memberships section. BINK Robin (talk) 15:50, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

Memberships request

Hello again! I'd like to tackle the Memberships section, which has several unsourced claims.

AAAS, ACEL, CFR

The first paragraph includes the following:

• She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

References

Of the three claims, only one is sourced (to a bad URL). Therefore, I propose replacing with the following:

• She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

References

NBIM, ConocoPhillips, EPRI

Here's a copy of the rest of the section's text:

• Freeman currently serves on the Climate Advisory Board of Norges Bank Investment Management, the asset manager of the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund. Freeman formerly served as an independent director of ConocoPhillips, and as a member of the advisory council of the Electric Power Research Institute.

References

Editors can decide if the Form 8-K is worth keeping as an inline citation, otherwise here's my proposed replacement with additional sources for these roles:

• Freeman currently serves on the Climate Advisory Board of Norges Bank Investment Management, the asset manager of the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund. Freeman formerly served as an independent director of ConocoPhillips, and as a member of the advisory council of the Electric Power Research Institute.

References

I'm trying to provide sources for unsourced text, in an attempt to improve the article's overall integrity. I've not proposed any specific text changes here and invite editors to update the article appropriately.

Cheers! BINK Robin (talk) 15:50, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

BINK Robin, I added the sources for academic fellowships and prestigious memberships. That doesn't belong in the lede (per MOS:DEGREE, MOS:POSTNOM), so I removed it from there; the ACOEL lists her as a member and not a fellow (and appears to use the terms interchangeably), so I changed the language in the article to match. I don't have an opinion on the other part of your request. Russ Woodroofe (talk) 08:51, 18 October 2023 (UTC)

@Russ Woodroofe: Thank you for reviewing the first part of this request and updating the article appropriately. I will see if I can find an editor to review the second part. In the meantime, I am submitting a request below to remove the "advertisement" tag, if you're interested. BINK Robin (talk) 18:12, 18 October 2023 (UTC)

Advertisement banner

Hello again! I would like to request removal of the "advertisement" banner, which was added back in April because, according to this edit summary, the "article [did] not contain any information regarding her recent controversy". This is no longer the case, as there's an entire section called Controversy.

The banner encourages editors to improve the article by removing promotional content. I've identified a couple instances of text that could be considered promotional.

I suggest removing the following sentences in the Work section:

• Freeman is widely published in leading American law reviews and is one of the most cited scholars in public law across the U.S.

• Her work has been published in several languages; a volume of her administrative law articles was published in Chinese in 2010.

• She consults regularly for government and non-governmental parties, advising on litigation and regulatory strategy.

References

I'm not sure if Brian Leiter's Law School Reports (part of the Law Professor Blogs Network) is considered a reliable source, and the text about having a volume published in Chinese is unsourced. I would invite editors to remove any other text deemed promotional or otherwise problematic. With the addition of the Controversy section and the removal of promotional text, can the tag be removed?

Cheers! BINK Robin (talk) 18:12, 18 October 2023 (UTC)

Text removal request

Since no editors have weighed in here, I'd like to submit an edit request specifically to remove the following unsourced text from the Work section:

• Her work has been published in several languages; a volume of her administrative law articles was published in Chinese in 2010.

Cheers! BINK Robin (talk) 20:08, 14 November 2023 (UTC)

I have removed all advertisement and peacock-type/like language in the article, as well as the {{advert}} template. Regards,  Spintendo  21:30, 14 November 2023 (UTC)

@Spintendo: Thank you for removing the tag. BINK Robin (talk) 20:12, 15 November 2023 (UTC)

Bibliography

Thanks to User:Spintendo for updating the article based on the above request. This edit (appropriately) removed mention of the subject's books from the article's prose. This is helpful as I had planned to submit a request to convert the inline citations into a Bibliography or Publications section. Since the text was removed, I'm submitting a request to create the following Bibliography section per WP:BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• Freeman, Jody; Kolstad, Charles D. (2007). Moving to markets in environmental regulation : lessons from twenty years of experience. Oxford University Press.
• Farber, Daniel A.; Freeman, Jody (2006). Cases and Materials on Environmental Law. Thomson/West.
• Minow, Martha (February 28, 2009). Freeman, Jody (ed.). Government by Contract: Outsourcing and American Democracy. ISBN 9780674032088.
• Gerrard, Michael; Freeman, Jody (2014). Global Climate Change and U.S. Law. American Bar Association.
• Cass, Ronald A.; Diver, Colin S.; Beermann, Jack M.; Freeman, Jody (February 2, 2020). Administrative Law: Cases and Materials. Aspen Publishing.
• Freeman, Jody (February 15, 2021). "The EPA and Climate Change". In Barnes, A. James; Graham, John D.; Konisky, David M. (eds.). Fifty Years at the US Environmental Protection Agency: Progress, Retrenchment, and Opportunities. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 1538147149.

Also, I noticed Reference 15 (Council on Foreign Relations) is missing "}}" between "]]" and "</ref>", if someone could fix the formatting on my behalf.

As always, I won't make direct edits to the article due to my COI and I appreciate any questions or feedback reviewing editors have. Cheers! BINK Robin (talk) 20:12, 15 November 2023 (UTC)

@BINK Robin I fixed reference 15. Everything else here in my opinion looks good, so I'll implement it as soon as I get to my laptop. Regards,  Spintendo  09:18, 16 November 2023 (UTC)

 Done  Spintendo  02:17, 17 November 2023 (UTC)

Thanks so much! BINK Robin (talk) 16:26, 17 November 2023 (UTC)

Norges Bank and Website

Hello! I'd like to make a couple more requests for this article. As always, I will not make direct edits because of my COI.

• Add the Website value to the Infobox with a URL for Jody Freeman's official website.

• Add to Work: Freeman currently serves on the Climate Advisory Board of Norges Bank Investment Management, the asset manager of the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund.

• Per the reference below:

References

• Reason: This content was previously in the article, but unsourced. This adds it back and includes a source.

Let me know what you think. Cheers! BINK Robin (talk) 22:34, 20 November 2023 (UTC)

 Done Lewcm Talk to me! 23:50, 20 November 2023 (UTC)

Thanks very much! BINK Robin (talk) 23:53, 20 November 2023 (UTC)

Suggested edit to article structure

Hello again! I'd like to suggest an improvement to this biography's structure. Currently, coverage of her writings is split between the Career and Work sections. I propose relocating the following text from the Work section to the Career section, in order to group related content:

• Freeman is a scholar of both administrative law and environmental law, and has written about climate change, environmental regulation and executive power. She has written on "collaborative governance".

The remainder of the Work section is about her board roles and memberships. Therefore, I propose renaming the Work section to Board service and memberships (also eliminating the current subsection heading Memberships).

If editors believe this is an improvement to the structure and flow, I'd appreciate help updating because I avoid editing entries directly. Cheers! BINK Robin (talk) 22:35, 29 November 2023 (UTC)

Approved  Spintendo  03:00, 30 November 2023 (UTC)

Thanks! BINK Robin (talk) 16:40, 30 November 2023 (UTC)

Harvard's Presidential Committee on Sustainability

Thanks again for your help above, Spintendo. Next, I'd like to suggest adding mention of a role that's missing from Career. Currently, the section says, "In 2005, Freeman joined the Harvard Law School faculty. She was one of a number of hires made during Elena Kagan's tenure as Dean. In 2006, she founded Harvard's Environmental and Energy Law and Policy program, a legal "think tank" for climate and energy policy analysis, and established an environmental law clinic." The article fails to mention her role as co-chair of the Presidential Committee on Sustainability. Per the following source, I suggest adding the following to the aforementioned text:

• She also co-chairs Harvard's Presidential Committee on Sustainability.

• Source: Biography at Harvard.edu ("She co-Chairs the Presidential Committee on Sustainability at Harvard ...")

There are other sources already used as citations in the biography that verify the claim. The Guardian says, "Professor Freeman also co-chairs Harvard’s presidential committee on sustainability and was recently awarded funding by the university’s new Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability to lead research on corporate net zero targets." I don't think this is a controversial request but I'm asking editors to update the article on my behalf given my conflict of interest.

Let me know what you think. Cheers! BINK Robin (talk) 16:41, 30 November 2023 (UTC)

Please provide the Wikilink for this role. If this is an internal role at Harvard, the subject's employment association with Harvard is already made in the article's career sectiion. Listing every role the subject has occupied is promotional, as this is WP:NOTCV. Regards,  Spintendo  03:49, 1 December 2023 (UTC)

ConocoPhillips

For my next request, I would like to address this problematic text, which was added back in August. The text is biased and inaccurate, offering readers an incorrect timeline of events and including some unsourced text. I do not expect to remove this text altogether; however, I would like to propose replacing the text with an accurate and neutral overview of what transpired.

Following is suggested replacement text, which uses the same sources as the current text, plus others, in order to fully explain the situation and present all perspectives:

In light of the approval of the Willow project and her research grant from Harvard's Salata Institute in 2023 to review corporate net zero targets, scrutiny of Freeman's role as an independent director of the ConocoPhillips board increased. The Guardian described emails allegedly showing that she had facilitated a meeting between ConocoPhillips executives and a director at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2021 without disclosing her conflict of interest in a way that fully complied with university policy. The Harvard Faculty Divest steering committee, a group of professors seeking to end fossil fuel use, sent a letter to president Claudine Gay and vice provost for climate and sustainability James H. Stock expressing their concerns about a potential conflict between Freeman's responsibility to ConocoPhillips and the university's climate commitments. The student activist group Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard published an open letter asking her to resign from the company's board. The group acknowledged Freeman's climate work but criticized her effectiveness in "helping reform ConocoPhillips from the inside" and specifically referenced the Willow project. Additionally, a group of former students from one of her classes at Harvard Law School wrote an open letter to Freeman. While stating they admired her "proven dedication to achieving environmental justice", they asked her to sever her relationship with ConocoPhillips.

Freeman defended her position, calling her engagement with ConocoPhillips "positive" in helping move the industry towards a low-carbon future. She explained that she had made an introduction to ConocoPhillips on behalf of her Harvard colleague John Coates, who was an incoming SEC director and sought input from ConocoPhillips to educate himself on industry views as he addressed climate issues at the Commission. Coates issued a statement in which he stated that he knew about Freeman's role at ConocoPhillips, that he initiated the conversation, and that Freeman did not "lobby" him or other SEC personnel. Freeman said her actions did not violate rules and that her role at ConocoPhillips was "common knowledge" at Harvard. Her Harvard colleague Richard Lazarus agreed, saying there was "absolutely no conflict of interest" with her board role. Norm Eisen, a government ethics specialist with the Brookings Institution, told The Washington Post: "From an ethics perspective nobody has pointed to a specific violation here. It's ethical. Whether it's virtuous or not is a genuine question for other authorities to debate." Freeman resigned from the ConocoPhillips board in August 2023. In a statement, she said she would focus on her research at Harvard and pursue new opportunities, including a book about environmental challenges and ideas for further progress.

References

I would also like to propose removing the Controversy section heading, per WP:CRIT. Removing the section heading would place the proposed content under the Board service and memberships section, which makes sense because the text is specifically about her role as an independent director of the ConocoPhillips board. Alternatively, if editors think a subsection heading is necessary for organizational purposes, then I propose changing the heading to "ConocoPhillips", which is neutral and more appropriate for a biography of a living person.

I believe the above text is accurate and neutral. It is a bit longer than the current text, but I believe this is necessary in order to fully explain the situation and present all sides. Can editors please review the proposed text and sources, and update the article appropriately? User:Lewcm, User:Spintendo, might you be available to review given your previous assistance above?

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks again. BINK Robin (talk) 18:05, 14 December 2023 (UTC)

 Done Looks much more balanced than the linked change, I've decided to keep a subheading to make the article easier to read and have gone with "ConocoPhillips" as you suggested within the board membership section. The controversy section was rather one-sided so it's a much needed improvement. Thanks, Lewcm Talk to me! 19:58, 15 December 2023 (UTC)

@Lewcm: Thank you for reviewing and updating the article. Since language in the article body has been made neutral, I would now like to propose an update to the introduction. I suggest removing the following text from the lead:

• In August 2023, she resigned from her position as director of the board of ConocoPhillips, after more than one and a half years of criticism by Harvard students and faculty. She had denied having violated conflict of interest rules. Emails demonstrated she participated in the company's lobbying efforts to convince the Securities and Exchange Commission to weaken its climate risk disclosure rules.

I propose replacing with an overview of her board service and memberships, focusing on notable roles:

• Freeman has been a member of the Administrative Conference of the United States, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Council on Foreign Relations. She was also an independent director of ConocoPhillips and a member of the Electric Power Research Institute's advisory council.

I'm happy to place this request in the COI queue for others to have a chance at reviewing, but I wanted to start with you since this request is related to the text you've just reviewed.

Thanks again! Cheers, BINK Robin (talk) 18:48, 18 December 2023 (UTC)

 Done Hi @BINK Robin - I'm happy to review :) I believe the ConocoPhillips bit being in the lead was adding undue weight/bias so all done as requested. Thanks, Lewcm Talk to me! 18:54, 18 December 2023 (UTC)

Looks great, thank you for the assistance! BINK Robin (talk) 18:59, 18 December 2023 (UTC)