More on Marquette's McAdams academic freedom case

John McAdams appeared on three radio shows to discuss Marquette’s attempt to fire him.

It was largely eclipsed by March Madness, and the fact that it was revealed on the day before Good Friday (and too late in the day to make the 5:00 p.m. news), something that was doubtless intentional on Marquette’s part. But the punishment the university wants to mete out to this blogger did get some media attention. Here is a short list of a few of the articles, and the “money quote” from each of them.

continue at Marquette Warrior

I found it striking that Lovell made this announcement right before Easter weekend, knowing it to be the best time maybe all year to bury a news story.  As Terry posted last week, Marquette is requiring an "apology" for McAdams to avoid Marquette moving for termination.  Lovell has made now multiple procedural failures, including a bizarre review process that somehow took SIXTEEN months to complete.  Lovell also refused to take the committee's recommendation that he waited all this time for, only to implement his own (the distinction being the committee did not require an "apology").

It seems clear Lovell is desperate to make sure McAdams is removed by any means necessary.  He probably hoped that not paying him for a year and a half would do it as he hid in a bunker.  McAdams didn't give, and Lovell will likely now have to sweat out a lawsuit which most liberals in America disagree with him on.  Lovell has been able to hide the process thus far because it is a personnel matter, but in the courtroom it will be fair game.  This double standard in McAdams case seems poised to blow up in the face of Marquette.  If Lovell will be required to take the fall at the point a large settlement is cashed out has yet to be seen - certainly not the way he had pictured his Marquette tenure beginning.

What I also find strange is that if I was running point for Marquette, the number one goal for the whole thing would be that this plays out as a "Marquette beefs up bullying protection, while respecting free speech rights."  Marquette apparently feels it's lack of policy is a strength and that whatever "Jesuit values" are is best left undefined.  Ineffective policy leads to autocratic rule.  Students and teachers should have rights that the administration respects, and disagreeing on topics need not descend in sixteen month penitential rites.  It certainly would not work in the business world, but maybe academia on Wisconsin Avenue is too big to fail.

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