The Wisconsin Supreme Court decided against Marquette University in its ongoing legal battle with John McAdams, the professor it fired for publicly rebuking a graduate assistant for forcing her opinions on her class. “In a win for academic freedom, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled today that Marquette University wrongly fired Professor John McAdams for comments he made on his personal blog in 2014,” the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) announced. “The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education filed a ‘friend of the court’ brief last November urging the court to hear McAdams’ case and reach this result.”
“McAdams criticized a graduate teaching instructor by name for her refusal to allow a student to debate gay rights because ‘everybody agrees on this.'”
The court decision reads, in part, “The undisputed facts show that the University breached its contract with Dr. McAdams when it suspended him for engaging in activity protected by the contract’s guarantee of academic freedom. Therefore, we reverse the circuit court and remand this cause with instructions to enter judgment in favor of Dr. McAdams, conduct further proceedings to determine damages (which shall include back pay), and order the University to immediately reinstate Dr. McAdams with unimpaired rank, tenure, compensation, and benefits.”
