A professor whose politically charged tweets lost him a job offer from the University of Illinois last year will move forward with a lawsuit against the university.
“Given the serious ramifications of my termination from a tenured professorship to a wide range of people, I am happy to move forward with this suit in the hope that restrictions on academic freedom, free speech, and shared governance will not become further entrenched because of UIUC’s behavior,” Steven Salaita said in a prepared statement.
On Thursday, Judge Harry Leinenweber of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois rejected the university’s motion to dismiss the case. The judge denied four out of nine counts Salaita brought against the University of Illinois, but left open the possibility that the university violated both the First Amendment and contract law in its handling of the case.
Salaita was offered a teaching position at the University of Illinois in the fall of 2013 that was set to begin August 2014. Salaita resigned from his job at Virginia Tech and made plans to move his family to Illinois. However, during this time the professor made headlines for controversial tweets containing harsh criticism of Israel’s policies in Gaza.
Salaita was contacted by UI Chancellor Phyllis Wise just weeks before the start of the fall semester last year informing him that the university was no longer in a position to appoint him.
The university argues that Salaita’s position was “subject to approval by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois,” as specified in his offer letter.
But Judge Leinenweber rejected this claim in his written decision.
“If the court accepts the university’s argument, the entire American academic hiring process as it now operates would cease to exist,” he wrote, “because no professor would resign a tenure position, move states and start teaching at a new college based on an ‘offer’ that was absolutely meaningless until after the semester already started.”
Leinenweber also threw out the university’s argument that its actions were not motivated by the content of Dr. Salaita’s tweets, but rather a desire to provide a “disruption-free learning environment.”
“The university’s attempt to draw a line between the profanity and incivility in Dr. Salaita’s tweets and the views those tweets presented is unavailing,” the judge wrote, claiming it would be nearly impossible to separate the tone of the tweets on this issue with the views they express.
Earlier this summer, the American Association of University Professors censured the University of Illinois for the handling of Salaita’s case.
“Censure by the AAUP informs the academic community that the administration of an institution has not adhered to generally recognized principles of academic freedom and tenure,” said a statement by the group.
In the wake of this controversy, Chancellor Wise announced her resignation on Thursday, citing “external issues” that have arisen over the past year. Wise said she plans to return to her role as a member of the faculty at Illinois.
