Let the Tweeter Beware

Peter Wood

The New York Times reports that the University of Central Florida is investigating tenured psychology professor Charles Negy in response to allegations of his displaying bias and unfair treatment in the classroom. The university took the unusual step of sending a letter from the university president, Alexander N. Cartwright, and two other university officials to the whole campus community in advance of the actual investigation. This by itself appears in conflict with due process, but the story has another disturbing element.

President Cartwright’s announcement of the investigation came one day after Professor Negy wrote on Twitter two statements that, according to the Times, “prompted outrage among students and faculty and led to calls for him to be fired.” The university responded, “We are aware of Charles Negy’s recent personal Twitter posts, which are completely counter to UCF’s values. We are reviewing this matter further while being mindful of the First Amendment.”

On its face, the university’s investigation into whether Professor Negy displayed bias or behaved unfairly in his classes appears to be a reprisal for his Tweets. The timing of the investigation and the extraordinary way it was announced strongly suggest that the university is searching for some kind of actionable incident that would allow it to discipline or fire Professor Negy. This would be a significant misuse of disciplinary procedures and a violation of Professor Negy’s rights.

Professor Negy Tweeted:

And:

In an interview, Professor Negy told the Times that he is critical of all ethnic and cultural groups and denied any racial prejudice.

The National Association of Scholars takes note of the possible violations of academic freedom in this case and urges the University of Central Florida to heed the spirit of academic freedom as well as its formal rules. Searching for a way around the ordinary safeguards for extra-mural faculty speech is a poor way to be “mindful of the First Amendment.”


Peter Wood is President of the National Association of Scholars.

Image: Public Domain

  • Share

Most Commented

September 6, 2024

1.

Professor Alleges "Widespread" Discriminatory Hiring Coverup at University of Washington

Audio acquired by the National Association of Scholars describes allegations of coverup race-based hiring coverup at the University of Washington...

October 29, 2024

2.

The Looming Irrelevance of Middle East Study Centers

Today’s Middle Eastern Studies Centers are facing a crisis due to the winds of change in the Middle East and their own ideological echo chamber....

September 25, 2024

3.

NAS Statement on University of Pennsylvania Sanction of Amy Wax

The National Association of Scholars is outraged—but not surprised—by Penn's decision to penalize Wax for exercising her academic freedom. ...

Most Read

May 15, 2015

1.

Where Did We Get the Idea That Only White People Can Be Racist?

A look at the double standard that has arisen regarding racism, illustrated recently by the reaction to a black professor's biased comments on Twitter....

October 12, 2010

2.

Ask a Scholar: What is the True Definition of Latino?

What does it mean to be Latino? Are only Latin American people Latino, or does the term apply to anyone whose language derived from Latin?...

September 21, 2010

3.

Ask a Scholar: What Does YHWH Elohim Mean?

A reader asks, "If Elohim refers to multiple 'gods,' then Yhwh Elohim really means Lord of Gods...the one of many, right?" A Hebrew expert answers....