Academic Freedom in Florida

Roger Berkowitz
On the very same day that Florida Governor Ron Desantis was coming to speak at Palm Beach Atlantic University, the university put a beloved and experienced Professor’s  teaching contract on hold because of complaints about his teaching about racial justice. The professor, Samuel Joeckel, has been teaching his racial-justice unit for twelve years without issue. But now, without warning or discussion, he is being investigated. Scott Jaschik writes: 

“I see this at the very least as a threat to my academic freedom. PBA is a Christian university. It has a deserved reputation as a politically conservative university. I could somewhat understand if the university had requested a meeting to review my material. I say ‘somewhat’ because, as a full professor with over 20 years of experience at the university, one would think they would trust me,” he wrote. “Indeed, the university has shown me little respect throughout this ordeal. But instead, without giving me due process, they brought their concern over my racial-justice unit with a threat of termination. I also believe that things like this do not happen in a vacuum. There is a reason why PBA is threatening me now rather than five years ago or 10 years ago. PBA is conforming to a toxic political culture, and they are playing a role that is a part of that culture’s script: a role that says, ‘We do not like to have uncomfortable conversations about race.’ There is no place for a role like that at an institution that calls itself a university, let alone a Christian university.”