Academic Freedom Under Attack

Academic freedom and the First Amendment are not abstractions for scholars — they are the everyday conditions that make honest teaching, research, and public service possible. Right now those conditions are under sustained attack from multiple directions: political pressure, federal investigations that chill student and faculty speech, and outside groups that publicly target and intimidate professors. We’re seeing real consequences for real people, faculty losing jobs, being investigated, or being publicly shamed for doing their jobs.

This month Texas A&M took the extraordinary step of firing a faculty member after a classroom lesson about gender and sexuality in children’s literature became the subject of viral outside criticism and political pressure. The dismissal, and the removal of academic leaders who defended the faculty member, has alarmed academic-freedom advocates who argue the action sets a dangerous precedent for classroom autonomy and scholarly judgment.The Texas Tribune

In California, the U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation into how UC Berkeley handled reports and complaints tied to alleged antisemitic incidents. Berkeley has publicly responded and complied with requests for information, turning over the names of 160 faculty, staff, and students to the Trump administration. Federal investigations of campus handling of protest-related speech and safety complaints create a fraught environment: administrators can be penalized, records demanded, and individuals’ privacy put at risk, all of which can chill both faculty and student expression. Read the reporting on Berkeley’s disclosures and the Education Department action.Inside Higher Ed

National organizations that defend academic freedom and free speech have repeatedly warned about a growing pattern: political actors and outside groups are pressuring campus leaders, states are passing or enforcing laws that limit classroom speech on topics like race or gender, and federal actions or oversight can be wielded in ways that chill campus expression. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), American Association of University Professors (AAUP), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have all documented trends and urged protections for faculty expression and institutional autonomy. AAUP

When institutions react to outside pressure by disciplining or firing instructors, banning topics, or otherwise narrowing what can be taught or researched, the immediate harm is to the faculty member; the broader harm is to students and to the public. Education depends on the ability to teach difficult, controversial, and evidence-based material without fear of reprisal. Erosion of those protections makes it harder to educate a critical, informed public and to preserve the civic space our democracy depends on. The recent Texas A&M firing, federal scrutiny of campus responses to protests, and the intimidation and doxxing of faculty members on social media and internet forums that often follows are not isolated incidents, they’re part of a pattern that threatens academic freedom across higher education. 

What faculty and union members can do now

1. Document. Keep careful records of any complaints, requests for records, or administrative inquiries you receive. Documentation matters in grievance and legal processes.

2. Talk to your chapter leadership. If you feel your academic freedom is being threatened, contact your union chapter chair right away so we can assess protections under your contract, help with grievance steps, and mobilize support.

3. Tell your legislators to support our bill to strengthen academic freedom in Illinois. Read more about SB 2202, the Academic Freedom of Expression Act.

4. Our strength is collective. Standing together is how we preserve the classrooms and colleges our students deserve.

   
   

Read more:

• Texas A&M faculty firing / academic freedom coverage:The Texas Tribune

• UC Berkeley and Department of Education reporting:Inside Higher Ed

• American Federation of Teachers - resources and statements on academic freedom. AFT

• American Association of University Professors — resources and statements on political attacks on higher education. AAUP

• ACLU resources on speech and campus policy. American Civil Liberties Union