Political theorist Ronald Beiner called to my attention that Jason Jorjani--whose charming political views we have covered at various intervals--apparently did not have his lectureship renewed in the wake of the NYT expose and has since sued the university and various officials there for violating his First Amendment rights and defaming him. I doubt he will get far on his defamation claims, but his First Amendment claims may, depending on the facts surrounding the decision to renew his teaching position, may be strong ones: it seems likely that NJIT let him go precisely because of his political viewpoint. (For the legal issues, see my earlier discussion in connection with the University of Illinois's unlawful firing of Steven Salaita from a tenured faculty position, not simply a renewable lectureship.)
As I wrote in the fall of 2017: "[A]cademic freedom protects Jorjani's right to be a monstrous fool; as long as he is discharging his pedagogical duties in a competent manner, his institution should not penalize him...If he has been suspended solely because of the NYT story putting a spotlight on his views, then the New Jersey Institute of Technology has acted wrongfully." Now they have terminated his employment, not simply suspended him. Of course, as the outcome of the Salaita case shows, even if Jorjani's constitutional rights were violated, his recovery may not be commensurate with the injury.
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