Brooklyn College: Possible Investigation of Professor's Expression

Case Materials

Media Coverage

  • "Campus Alert: Think like us—or else," New York Post, June 4, 2007
  • "Speech on Campus After 9/11: Less Free than It Used to Be?," Jennifer Van Bergen, FindLaw Legal News and Commentary, May 25, 2006: Universities have traditionally been places where debate and the free exchange of ideas have been welcomed. But after 9/11, that may be changing -- as some recent, troubling incidents suggest.
  • "Class(room) Warriors," John Leo, U.S. News & World Report, October 24, 2005: It is called dispositions theory, and it was set forth five years ago by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education: Future teachers should be judged by their “knowledge, skills, and dispositions.” What are “dispositions”? NCATE’s prose made clear that they are the beliefs and attitudes that guide a teacher toward a moral stance. That sounds harmless enough, but it opened a door to reject teaching candidates on the basis of thoughts and beliefs.
  • "FIRE Protests Threatened 'Inquisition' of Brooklyn College's Dissenting Prof.," Jim Brown, Agape Press, September 20, 2005: A New York college recently accused of threatening to censor a dissenting professor claims it has remained firm in its commitment to academic freedom. Brooklyn College claims it has not begun an investigation of outspoken Professor KC Johnson; however, the statement comes after the instructor was warned he may face such an official investigation.
  • "College backs off on dissenting professor," WorldNetDaily, September 15, 2005: Faced with the threat of legal action, a New York City college pledged not to investigate a professor who objected to the school's policy of requiring education students be committed to a particular definition of "social justice."
  • " Dissenting Professor Faces Possible 'Integrity Committee' Investigation," Jim Brown, Agage Press, September 13, 2005: A campus watchdog group says a dissenting professor at Brooklyn College in New York is being unfairly targeted by administrators for accusing faculty members of indoctrination and viewpoint discrimination.
  • "Prof's protest of 'political litmus test' raises hackles," Linda Seebach, Scripps Howard News Service, September 10, 2005: Such criticism is clearly within the boundaries of academic freedom (after all, Ward Churchill of the University of Colorado is in trouble because of other allegations; he got an official pass on "little Eichmanns"). Johnson's criticism may be mistaken, but it should be taken seriously and the facts alleged either confirmed or denied.