Academic Freedom Alliance

We're holding the first in a new series of monthly webinars TOMORROW at 3pm EDT. Register now for the panel discussion and Q&A on the recent landmark ruling in Meriwether v. Shawnee State University.

On March 26, the court determined that Nicholas Meriwether, a Christian professor of philosophy at Shawnee State in Ohio, was wrongfully reprimanded for refusing to use a transgender student's preferred pronoun.

Was the court right that Meriwether was acting within his First Amendment rights? Is all classroom speech free speech? Our distinguished panel of law professors will discuss the issue from all sides.

Learn more and register to attend here:

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Panel Discussion on the Meriwether Case: Is All Classroom Speech Free Speech?. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Join the Academic Freedom Alliance on June 2nd at 3:00pm EST for a panel discussion on the recent landmark ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in Meriwether v. The Trustees of Shawnee State University, which is redefining the relationship between classroom teaching, academic free...

A University of San Diego law professor is facing calls for his termination following a blog post he wrote on China's handling of Covid-19. Read about the controversy here: https://reason.com/volokh/2021/03/20/univ-of-san-diego-law-school-investigating-professor-for-post-critical-of-china/ The AFA's full statement of support for Professor Smith is below.

STATEMENT FROM THE ACADEMIC FREEDOM ALLIANCE:

Academic freedom includes the right of professors to publish blog posts on matters of general public concern without the threat of investigations and sanctions by their university employer. Unfortunately, the University of San Diego Law School is not respecting that basic principle.

On March 10, 2021, University of San Diego Law Professor Tom Smith published a blog post on a group law blog, The Right Coast, of which he is the editor. Smith’s post reacted to an opinion piece published in The Wall Street Journal criticizing the World Health Organization’s ability to remain independent from the government of China in its investigation of the origins of COVID-19. After quoting two paragraphs from the WSJ piece, Professor Smith added a paragraph of commentary asserting that anyone who does not believe that the virus escaped “from the lab in Wuhan” was “swallowing whole a set of Chinese c**k swaddle.” He later added an update emphasizing that “Chinese” in that phrase referred to “the Chinese government.” The reference seems quite clear within the context of the post.

The Asian Pacific American Law Student Association at USD filed a formal complaint to the school calling, among other things, for Professor Smith’s “termination.” The dean of the law school released a letter to the school characterizing the blog post as a form of “bias” that had “an adverse impact on our community” and noting that “university policies specifically prohibit harassment, including the use of epithets, derogatory comments, or slurs based on race or national origin, among other categories.” The dean promised that “there will be a process to review whether university or law school policies have been violated.” A separate letter was sent to the faculty objecting to the use of “offensive language” and declaring that “there is no place for language that demeans a particular national group.” These letters make clear that the dean has already prejudged the proper outcome for any disciplinary process on charges of alleged harassment.

This investigation is a clear threat to Professor Smith’s academic freedom. Blog posts are a form of what the American Association of University Professors calls “extramural speech.” Extramural speech is a protected form of academic freedom. When professors “speak or write as citizens, they should be free from institutional censorship of discipline.” As the AAUP has emphasized, “The controlling principle is that a faculty member’s expression of opinion as a citizen cannot constitute grounds for dismissal unless it clearly demonstrates the faculty member’s unfitness for the position.” The University of San Diego embraces those principles, declaring that the university would “uphold the highest standards of intellectual inquiry and academic freedom.”

Not only is the interpretation of Professor Smith’s phrasing as a slur based on race or national origin a tendentious misreading of the blog post in question, but the suggestion that a single phrase in a single blog post commenting on the behavior of the Chinese government and international health agencies can trigger the procedures of the university’s harassment policy sends a chilling message to all faculty. The Academic Freedom Alliance calls upon USD leadership to adhere to its academic freedom principles by rescinding its denunciation of Professor Smith and terminating all disciplinary proceedings against him based on his March 10, 2021 blog post.

All are invited to join us TOMORROW at 3pm EST via Zoom for a Panel Event and Q&A on the Academic Freedom Alliance. We'll take as many questions as we can. See the panelists and register to attend here:

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Panel Discussion - Launch of the Academic Freedom Alliance. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Join us for a panel discussion and Q&A regarding the launch of the Academic Freedom Alliance (AFA). The panel will feature: Keith Whittington -- Chair of the AFA's Academic Committee, Professor of Politics at Princeton University. Jeannie Suk Gersen -- Member of the AFA's Legal Advisory Council, Pro...

The Academic Freedom Alliance launched yesterday with 200+ founding members, representing the full ideological diversity of academia. Learn more at http://academicfreedom.org and follow us here for updates on our mission and cases.

Academic Freedom Alliance Solidarity in Pursuit of Truth The Protection of Freedom of Thought, Inquiry, Expression, and Discussion The Academic Freedom Alliance (AFA) is a non-profit organization whose members are dedicated to protecting the rights of faculty members at colleges and universities to speak, instruct, and publi...