In a trial that began last week, a
jury is considering whether the University of North Carolina-Wilmington
retaliated against one of its professors for his views. Last year, a federal court found sufficient
evidence to warrant a trial after an appeals court determined that the 1st
Amendment protects the views criminology professor Dr. Mike Adams published in
opinion columns with which university officials disagreed.
Alliance
Defending Freedom Litigation Staff Counsel Travis
Barham said, “Universities are supposed to be a marketplace of ideas, not a
place where professors face retaliation for having a different view than
university officials. Disagreeing with
an accomplished professor's religious and political views is no grounds for
denying him a promotion. As the 4th
Circuit affirmed, protecting academic freedom for university professors is
critical, and opinion columns are among the purest examples of free speech that
the First Amendment protects.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the
4th Circuit wrote in 2011 that “no individual loses his ability to speak as a
private citizen by virtue of public employment … Adams' columns addressed
topics such as academic freedom, civil rights, campus culture, sex, feminism,
abortion, homosexuality, religion, and morality. Such topics plainly touched on issues of
public, rather than private, concern.”
Interestingly, Dr. Adams – a former
atheist – frequently received accolades from his colleagues after the
university hired him as an assistant professor in 1993 and promoted him to
associate professor in 1998. His
conversion to Christianity in 2000 impacted his views on political and social
issues. Subsequently, the university
subjected Adams to a campaign of academic persecution that culminated in his
denial of promotion to full professor, despite an award-winning record of
teaching, research, and service.
What an interesting scenario – a
formerly ‘lost’ atheist, finds Jesus, and therefore is denied a promotion to
full professor. I hope he wins his
lawsuit, gets promoted, and tithes any monetary compensation. You just can’t make this stuff up!
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor,
Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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