Tenure Protects Scholarship, Not Politics…. On Campus

The principle of tenure has long been central to higher education. It is designed not to guarantee lifelong employment but to protect academic freedom — the right of faculty to teach, research, and publish without fear of reprisal, even when their work challenges dominant views. Yet in recent years, tenure has been tested not by the production of controversial scholarship but by faculty engaging in overt political activism on campus. A growing number of cases show that tenure cannot, and should not, serve as a shield for political stances or protest activity undertaken outside one’s area of academic expertise.

Consider the case in Johns Hopkins a few years ago, where a professor was dismissed following a confrontation with student protesters during an on-campus sit-in: Link. The administration claimed the faculty member’s behavior was disruptive and inconsistent with institutional expectations, while the professor argued he was defending free expression and academic order. The episode underscored how quickly activism, even when born of principle, can shift from legitimate engagement to conduct viewed as incompatible with a faculty role.

At Millsaps College, a tenured professor of religious studies was terminated after sending an all-campus email calling the United States “racist” and “fascist”: Link. The communication was not part of a scholarly debate but a political statement sent to students using university channels. The administration viewed it as exceeding the boundaries of professional communication, while the faculty member maintained that his remarks reflected moral conviction. The incident raised the question of whether campus platforms can be used for personal political expression without compromising professional responsibility.

The controversy at Columbia followed a similar pattern: News link. A law professor who publicly aligned with student demonstrators and criticized university leadership over the handling of pro-Palestinian protests reported being effectively forced out. While her supporters framed this as retaliation for standing with students, the institution argued that faculty participation in campus demonstrations can blur the line between scholarship and activism, particularly when it involves public criticism of colleagues or administrative decisions.

Earlier examples such as the University of Missouri professor remain instructive: News link. Caught on video during a 2015 campus protest telling student reporters to “get out of here” and calling for “muscle” to remove them, she was suspended and later dismissed. Her case continues to serve as a cautionary tale of how on-campus political advocacy, especially when accompanied by perceived interference with others’ rights, can undermine claims of academic freedom.

Taken together, these incidents reveal the growing tension between academic freedom and on-campus activism. Tenure was created to protect the pursuit of knowledge — even when that inquiry challenges convention — but it was never meant to immunize behavior that transforms classrooms and quads into arenas of political confrontation. When faculty shift from scholarly engagement to activism under the banner of their position, they risk conflating personal ideology with professional authority.

Faculty, of course, do not lose their rights as citizens or moral agents. They may advocate, debate, and even protest. But the classroom and campus are unique spaces — their legitimacy depends on trust that faculty use institutional resources for inquiry, not mobilization. The integrity of tenure depends on that distinction.

Tenure is strongest when it remains tethered to expertise — when it defends the historian revisiting contested archives, the economist challenging prevailing fiscal models, or the biologist publishing inconvenient findings. It is weakest, and most vulnerable to attack, when invoked as a shield for activism untethered from teaching or research. The lesson from recent controversies is simple and enduring: tenure protects scholarship, not politics.