Scott Yenor

Scott Yenor (born 1970) is an American political activist, university professor, and author, known for his anti-feminist views, a label he applies to himself. He is a member of the men-only Christian nationalist organization Society for American Civic Renewal and works for the Claremont Institute's Center for the American Way of Life.

Yenor has taught political science at Boise State University since 2000. A 2021 speech in which he described career-oriented women as "medicated, meddlesome and quarrelsome" and argued against recruiting women into professions including medicine, law and engineering drew national news coverage and campus protests. Boise State charged him with six civil rights violations in a process conducted under Title IX. Yenor is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and Loyola University Chicago.

In January 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Yenor to the board of trustees of the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Florida, where he was elected board chair. The appointment drew protests in Pensacola and criticism from members of the Florida Legislature, and Yenor resigned on April 9, 2025, before a confirmation vote in the Florida Senate.

Early life and education Scott Yenor was born in 1970. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, receiving a B.A. in 1993. He earned a Ph.D. from Loyola University Chicago in political science and government in 2000.

Academic career Yenor was hired as a professor at Boise State University in 2000. He is a tenured professor and teaches political philosophy. He is also a fellow with the Center for the American Way of Life of the Claremont Institute. In 2023, Claremont hired Yenor as its first senior director of state coalitions. Yenor is a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

Yenor drew earlier attention in 2017 for an article in The Daily Signal titled "Transgender Activists Are Seeking to Undermine Parental Rights", after which a petition calling for his dismissal gathered more than 2,000 signatures. He said that "our independent women seek their purpose in life in mid-level bureaucratic jobs like human resource management, environmental protection and marketing", and that such women were "more medicated, meddlesome and quarrelsome than women need to be". He said that "every effort must be made not to recruit women into engineering, but rather to recruit and demand more of men who become engineers", adding "ditto for med school, and the law, and every trade". He also said: "If every Nobel Prize winner is a man, that's not a failure. It's kind of a cause for celebration". A university spokesman said that the open exchange of ideas could introduce "uncomfortable and even offensive ideas" but that Boise State could not restrict protected speech. President Marlene Tromp and dozens of administrators and faculty subsequently signed a statement affirming the university's support for women and their right to pursue any course of study.

Hundreds of people demonstrated at Boise State in December 2021. Emails obtained by Idaho Education News through a public records request showed that former Idaho House Speaker Bruce Newcomb, who had previously worked as the university's legislative lobbyist, suggested that Boise State consider a "termination strategy", and that at least one alumnus asked to be removed from university fundraising lists over the remarks.

Yenor has stated the his belief that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as an obstacle to society, as it mandates equal treatment of men and women, which he is against.

Yenor published a paper with the Heritage Foundation in July 2026 arguing for sports to be exempted from Title IX and for competitive women's sports to be replaced with "cheerleading, dance, yoga, hiking clubs, recreational intramurals, and other athletic opportunities more aligned with average female interests and tendencies."

Yenor anonymously founded the far-right website Action Idaho in 2021. The platform published commentary critical of Idaho Republicans deemed insufficiently right-wing and hateful disinformation related to LGBTQ+ groups. Yenor received funding for the endeavor from Claremont Institute chairman Thomas Klingenstein. His authorship of the website was uncovered in 2024.

University of West Florida board of trustees In January 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Yenor to the University of West Florida board of trustees. At the board's January 23 meeting, the newly appointed trustees elected Yenor chair over incumbent trustee Richard Baker, who was supported by the existing members. The appointment was opposed by students, local residents and county commissioners, and former trustee Jeanne Godwin founded a group, Save UWF, to campaign against it. DeSantis defended the appointment in February 2025, saying that Yenor would "be a champion for the classical mission of a university". Yenor resigned on April 9, 2025, before a confirmation vote in the Florida Senate, writing to university president Martha Saunders that "opposition to my nomination among a group within Florida's Senate" had led to his departure and that he would continue to work on higher education reform.

Personal life Yenor is married to Amy Yenor, an events coordinator, and has five children. He lives in Meridian, Idaho, and is Lutheran.