The American Association of University Professors on Friday released a pair of statements denouncing a controversial social-media policy adopted by the Kansas Board of Regents, and the University of Colorado at Boulder’s treatment of a tenured sociology professor, as violations of academic freedom.
The two cases have raised fears about a weakening of academic freedom at a time when social media can spread news of a professor’s remarks and teaching practices far beyond the boundaries of a single college campus.
The social-media policy in Kansas grants chief executives of the state’s public colleges the authority to discipline employees over controversial statements made online. The state’s Board of Regents adopted the policy after a University of Kansas journalism professor set off a storm of criticism with a controversial tweet about the National Rifle Association.
The AAUP’s statement called that policy “a gross violation of the fundamental principles of academic freedom” and said it had been developed without faculty input. The statement urged the board to repeal the policy and to work with faculty members to develop a new one that “protects both the legitimate interest of the university in security and efficiency as well as the paramount interest of faculty and students in the unfettered exchange of ideas and information.”
The Colorado case involved a tenured sociology professor, Patricia A. Adler, who said she had been pressured to retire over concerns about a student-performed classroom skit on prostitution. In its statement on that case, the AAUP said Ms. Adler’s academic freedom had been violated. The statement also objected to what the AAUP said were the university’s shifting justifications for its actions.
“While we recognize that all the facts may not be public, what is known in this instance makes clear that the university has been inconsistent in its rationale and hasty in its judgments,” the statement said. “Therefore, we strongly urge the University of Colorado-Boulder administration to make a clear statement affirming that Professor Adler has not been forced to resign over the skit on prostitution that took place in her class and that she will be allowed to teach the course in the future.”
