Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College: Professor Reprimanded for Protected Classroom Speech About Religion and Sex

In October 2023, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Georgia launched an investigation of Professor Jay Baldwin based on a student complaint alleging he inappropriately discussed religion and sex during his introductory human communication class. On March 13, 2024, ABAC concluded Baldwin had not violated the Employee Code of Conduct, but placed a memo in his personnel file reprimanding him and threatening formal discipline should he continue to discuss religion and sex with the same “problematic” frequency and tone. FIRE wrote ABAC on July 30, 2024, urging the college to remove the memo from Baldwin’s personnel file because the First Amendment protects Baldwin’s academic freedom to choose how to teach pedagogically relevant material in his classes. ABAC responded on August 22, newly alleging that Baldwin’s discussions of religion were not germane to his course subject. FIRE wrote ABAC a second time on October 16, pointing out that the college had already acknowledged that religion was relevant to the subject of Baldwin’s course.  ABAC responded again on December 5, reiterating that Baldwin’s discussions of religion were inappropriate. FIRE wrote ABAC’s newly appointed provost and the University System of Georgia on January 21, 2025, regarding ABAC’s continued refusal to remove the memo from Baldwin’s personnel file.