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Glendale Community College: Professor Sanctioned for Sending E-Mail

After a months-long campaign led by FIRE, the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) reached a settlement with Professor Walter Kehowski, allowing him to return to teaching classes. Kehowski was placed on forced administrative leave and faced possible termination because he e-mailed George Washington's Thanksgiving address to the MCCCD community. Kehowski found the address on Pat Buchanan's website and linked to the site, where Buchanan also discussed his views on immigration and other topics, in the e-mail. Some MCCCD employees were offended, and Kehowski was charged with violating district policies. However, in the end, Kehowski was vindicated in his settlement with the school.

Case Materials

• "Victory for Free Speech at Glendale Community College," June 25, 2007: After a months-long campaign led by FIRE, the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) has reached a settlement with Professor Walter Kehowski, allowing him to return to teaching classes in the fall. In March, Kehowski was placed on forced administrative leave and faced possible termination because he e-mailed George Washington’s Thanksgiving address to the MCCCD community last November. Kehowski found the address on Pat Buchanan’s website and linked to the site, where Buchanan also discussed his views on immigration and other topics, in the e-mail. Some MCCCD employees were offended, and Kehowski was charged with violating district policies. A confidentiality agreement prohibits either side from discussing the details of the settlement, but Kehowski affirms that he is satisfied with the outcome.
• "Professor on Brink of Being Fired for E-Mailing George Washington's Thanksgiving Address," May 7, 2007: The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) has placed a professor on forced administrative leave and has recommended that he be terminated for e-mailing a Thanksgiving message to his colleagues last November. On the day before Thanksgiving, Professor Walter Kehowski sent out the text of George Washington’s “Thanksgiving Day Proclamation of 1789” and a link to the webpage where he’d found it—on Pat Buchanan’s web log. After several recipients complained of being offended by the e-mail, MCCCD found Kehowski guilty of violating the district’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policy and technology usage standards. Kehowski then contacted FIRE for help. Kehowski has appealed the chancellor’s decision and will defend himself at an appeal hearing on June 5.
• "Letter from MCCCD Chancellor Rufus Glasper to FIRE, April 30, 2007," April 30, 2007
• "FIRE Letter to MCCCD Chancellor Rufus Glasper, April 25, 2007," April 25, 2007
• "Letter from MCCCD Chancellor Rufus Glasper to Walter Kehowski, March 9, 2007," March 9, 2007
• "E-Mail from Walter Kehowski to MCCCD Community, November 22, 2006," November 22, 2006
• "MCCCD Electronic Communications Policy," September 1, 2006
• "MCCCD Equal Employment Opportunity Policy," September 1, 2006

Blog Entries

• "This Month in FIRE History: Professor Kehowski Punished for E-Mailing George Washington's Thanksgiving Address," by Peter Bonilla, May 28, 2010

Media Coverage

• "Indivisible: No celebration of liberty can ignore America's godly heritage,"
  by Alan Sears, Townhall.com, July 2, 2007
• "Quick Takes: Glendale settles e-mail dispute,"
  Inside Higher Ed, June 26, 2007
• "Professor who sent controversial links via e-mails will keep his job,"
  by Robert Anglen, The Arizona Republic, June 23, 2007
• "Find the square root of our free speech,"
  by E.J. Montini, The Arizona Republic, May 17, 2007
• "Professor faces possible termination over e-mail,"
  KVOA News 4 (Tuscon, Ariz.), May 11, 2007
• "Professor faces possible termination over e-mail,"
  KOLD-TV (Glendale, Ariz.), May 11, 2007
• "Academic twilight zone,"
  Harrisonburg Daily News Record, May 11, 2007
• "Glendale prof faces possible termination over e-mail,"
  Arizona Daily Star, May 8, 2007
• "Community college professor could be fired over e-mail,"
  by Anne Ryman, The Arizona Republic, May 8, 2007
• "A costly Thanksgiving message,"
  by Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed, May 8, 2007
• "Professor forced out for citing George Washington,"
  NewsMax.com, May 7, 2007
• "Campus Alert: ‘Hostile’ George Washington,"
  New York Post, May 7, 2007