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Willand v. Alexander settles favorably

Prof. wins fight over politically correct speech restrictions

Courtesy of Old Army Press

A Minnesota professor fought back in federal court, with CIR's help, to protect his rights to free speech and academic freedom. After putting a poster of General George Custer on his office door and otherwise deviating from a politically correct view of American history, Professor Jon Willand was disciplined and subjected to a series of restrictions on his speech. He was prohibited from saying anything that someone might find offensive. Willand's lawsuit also challenged a computer speech code that further chills his First Amendment rights. The case was settled when defendants agreed to a judgment for the plaintiff.

See the CIR press release

Read the complaint and memorandum of law (PDF format)

Visit a history site on Jamestown and Pocahontas that Willand couldn't access without risking his job!

Learn about CIR's other academic free speech cases:

• Deming v. Oklahoma -- successfully defended a geology professor against "sexual harassment" complaints based upon a letter to the editor he wrote to a college newspaper
• Gee v. Humphries -- Challenged state college's suspension and termination of Gerald Gee, a white professor who was said to have "harassed" students at historically black Florida A&M University.
• Silva v. University of New Hampshire -- successfully defended a professor against charges he created a "hostile environment" by making remarks with sexual content

Read about CIR's cases protecting other forms of free expression

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