Campus Activism – On-Demand Training

Explore When Faculty & Staff Participation Crosses the Line

College and university faculty and staff often find themselves sought out by students seeking to pressure the administration, trustees and others through direct action. Students seek guidance on planning sit-ins, pickets, protests of speakers, campaigns to alter investment strategies, and other activism by students, placing faculty and staff in direct opposition to the institution. Faculty and staff may also feel drawn to engage directly in the activism itself as a way of supporting students or voicing their own concerns. The circumstances often involve strong passions. 

When is providing such guidance or engaging in direct action by faculty and staff protected expression out of the reach of sanction by the institution, and when may the institution take disciplinary action, including suspension or termination of employment? Where exactly is the “line that cannot be crossed” without triggering consequences?

Our free speech expert – Dr. Allen Groves, Senior Vice President for the Student Experience, the Chief Student Experience Officer at Syracuse University – will engage you in a lively discussion to look beyond a narrow discussion of freedom of speech to examine the broader context of faculty and staff engagement in student activism. Explore potential risks posed by alleged defamation, trespass, and other potential legal claims arising from faculty and staff direct action. 

Recent examples in the higher education setting will be used as case studies to bring clarity to the subject and offer clearer guidance on where the metaphorical line should be drawn. 

Topics Covered

Gain crucial, actionable takeaways that will help you: 

• Improve your understanding of the scope of rights afforded to college and university employees who directly advise or encourage students to engage in activism, and the limits on such action. 
• Support students while also maintaining appropriate limits on certain forms of direct engagement. 
• Gain a deeper understanding of what constitutes protected expression by faculty and staff when engaging in direct activism against the institution or other parties and where such protection ends. 
• Explore the opportunities and limits of engaging in direct action with students against the institution or other parties, including legal risks to faculty and staff beyond adverse employment action. 
• Gain clarity around the different approaches taken by courts based upon the employee’s role as tenured faculty, adjunct/contract faculty and staff. 
• Explore recent high-profile situations in which faculty and staff have experienced adverse employment action resulting from their conduct related to student activism. 
  

For institutional leaders, you will also improve your understanding of when faculty and staff are within their legal rights to engage with students in direct action. 

Presenter

Allen Groves serves Syracuse University as Senior Vice President for the Student Experience, the Chief Student Experience Officer of the University.
Click here for full bio.