June Update from the AFA
Favorable Court Ruling for Dr. Joyner
Dr. Michael Joyner’s case against the Mayo Clinic, which is funded and supported by the AFA, has been approved by a judge to move forward to a jury trial in September. The Third Judicial Court of Olmsted County, Minnesota issued a ruling Monday that Joyner’s contract and promissory estoppel claims against the Mayo Clinic based on Mayo’s Anti-Retaliation Policy and Appeals Procedure are strong enough to go to a jury trial.
The ruling is the latest development in a case dating back to 2023, when Dr. Joyner alleges that the Mayo Clinic violated its contractual obligations by punishing him over comments he made to the media about sex-specific differences in sports performance and about the use of convalescent plasma in the treatment of COVID-19. Dr. Joyner’s ability to participate in interviews and speak freely to the press about his research are fundamental to his academic freedom as an employee of the Mayo Clinic.
Growing Victory Total
In our four years of operations, the AFA has been involved in a number of academic freedom disputes on behalf of our members and others, only some of which have been made public. This month we learned of favorable resolutions to three additional private matters we were involved in, bringing our total victory count to 25 cases. We’re proud of the milestone and expect it to continue growing throughout the remainder of the year as we lend support to faculty in additional disputes.
The AFA is continuing to fund our existing cases while monitoring new issues. As we expand our membership and casework, we’re grateful to everyone who has donated to our organization and hope our members and friends will consider contributing here. We could not do our work without your support. As always, you can reach out to Howard Muncy at hmuncy@academicfreedom.org if you are aware of any disputes that may warrant our attention.
Podcast Episode on Taxing University Endowments
Last month on the Academic Freedom Podcast, Keith Whittington interviewed Brian Galle, the Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Tax Policy at Georgetown University Law Center. Galle, an expert on taxation and nonprofits, spoke about the legal, financial, and academic freedom implications of a new government effort to tax certain university endowments.
You can read about the proposed tax on university endowments here. The Republican House Ways & Means Committee recently issued a press release proclaiming that the bill “holds woke, elite universities that operate like major corporations . . . accountable.” Galle spoke from his experience having recently served as a senior fellow in the division of corporation finance at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
AFA Members on Bias Against Pro-Israel Faculty
AFA members Cary Nelson and Richard Ross of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign wrote an essay last month in Telos Insights about the rising incidence of qualified Zionist faculty being denied university tenure. They cite the case of a professor at their university, Benjamin Bross, who was denied tenure after multiple procedural mistakes were made by a panel that included members who were avowedly anti-Zionist and hostile to Bross’ views.
Membership Updates
We added one new member since our last update for a total membership of 929. We would like to surpass 1000 members this year and appreciate any and all recommendations from our current members that may help us meet that goal. Please send any nominations to AFA Director of Operations Howard Muncy at hmuncy@academicfreedom.org.