VICTORY FOR ACADEMIC FREEDOM: Timothy Jackson Settlement Marks Major Win Against Campus Orthodoxy
Newsletter
Dear Friends of FAIR,
We’re thrilled to announce a resounding victory for academic freedom and intellectual integrity. After a hard-fought legal battle, musicologist Timothy Jackson has reached a $725,000 settlement with the University of North Texas, marking a decisive win against efforts to silence scholarly debate on our nation’s campuses.
In 2020, Professor Jackson found himself in the crosshairs of campus orthodoxy for doing what scholars are supposed to do: engaging in rigorous intellectual discourse. When the Journal of Schenkerian Studies, which Jackson founded and edited, published a symposium examining claims that music theory was “white supremacist,” Jackson was subjected to a vicious campaign designed to destroy his career and reputation.
His crime? Publishing scholarly articles that dared to question academic narratives and defended music theory against charges of inherent racism. For this act of intellectual courage, Jackson faced a hostile work environment campaign orchestrated by colleagues, removal from his position as journal editor, and a concerted effort to end his academic career.
But Timothy Jackson refused to be silenced. And FAIR stood with him every step of the way.
From the moment we learned of Professor Jackson’s plight, FAIR recognized this case as emblematic of the broader crisis facing American higher education. A distinguished scholar who had devoted his career to advancing knowledge and fostering intellectual growth was persecuted – not for misconduct or incompetence, but for engaging in the scholarly debate that universities should encourage.
We knew that if universities could destroy careers simply for publishing unfashionable ideas, then academic freedom itself was under existential threat. That’s why FAIR made Jackson’s case a priority, providing both legal and moral support throughout this grueling ordeal.
Under the settlement terms, Professor Jackson will continue his academic career and resume his role as editor of the journal he founded. While he agreed to drop his First Amendment and defamation claims as part of the agreement, and the University of North Texas does not admit guilt, this substantial settlement represents more than just vindication for one professor; it’s a powerful statement that attempts to silence scholarly discourse through intimidation and retaliation will not go unchallenged.
This settlement is also a compelling reminder that courage still matters, now more than ever. Professor Jackson could have apologized, retracted his scholarly work, and hoped the storm would pass. Instead, he stood firm in his commitment to intellectual integrity, and he was rewarded for his bravery.
This victory comes at a crucial moment for FAIR’s mission. As we develop our American Experience curriculum to provide students with balanced, rigorous education about our nation’s complex history, Jackson’s case reminds us why this work is so urgent.
When professors face career destruction for engaging in scholarly debate and university administrators cave to activist pressure rather than defend intellectual freedom, students are taught that thoughtful dissent leads to punishment. They learn that conformity is safer than critical thinking, that ideological purity matters more than rigorous inquiry, and that courage is punished while cowardice is rewarded. The Jackson settlement sends a different message: intellectual courage has value, scholarly debate deserves protection, and those who stand up for these principles will not stand alone.
We’re grateful to everyone who supported Professor Jackson throughout his ordeal, from our valued donors to moral supporters who understood that academic freedom doesn’t defend itself; it requires ordinary people willing to stand up for the extraordinary principles we cherish.
As we celebrate Professor Jackson’s victory, we’re reminded that the battle for educational excellence and intellectual freedom continues. But working together, we can build a more fair, inclusive, and intellectually vibrant educational future.
With gratitude,
Monica Harris
Executive Director
An Evening with Stephen Reich: The Ideological Capture of Education
Stephen Reich is a former lawyer and current PhD student. His research concerns education’s capture by an ideological but evidence-poor Critical Theory, at the expense of cognitive science-informed best practices to effectively, efficiently, and equitably impart children with humanity’s most consequential knowledge and skills accumulated to date, necessary for both future innovation, and responsible participation in adult society.
Stephen’s upcoming doctoral research will examine the ideological underpinnings of teacher-training in Ontario and whether it is designed to prepare teachers for the reality of classroom teaching.
Stephen will touch upon how education has been captured at the ministerial level by Criticalism, and how learning science and a nationally-focused classical liberal curriculum which would benefit everybody has been cast aside for the ideological preferences of ministerial bureaucrats and ideologically captured educational academics. He is ready to propose a better way forward.
Stephen is a co-chair of University of Toronto's Heterodox Academy and a member of the organization’s national executive. Apart from his work in educational policy, Stephen is a former actor, and current choral director, vocalist and musical arranger.
Stephen will join us Wednesday, August 6th at 7:00pm ET via Zoom. You can register below.
We hope you will join us!
The quest for social justice is a powerful crusade of our time, with an appeal to many different people, for many different reasons. Thomas Sowell’s Social Justice Fallacies reveals how many things that are thought to be true simply cannot stand up to documented facts, which are often the opposite of what is widely believed. But crusaders with an utter certainty about their mission are often undeterred by obstacles, evidence or even fatal dangers. History shows that the social justice agenda has often led in the opposite direction, sometimes with catastrophic consequences. Join FAIR in Conversation on August 20th for an interesting discussion about the book.
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“The Jackson settlement sends a different message: intellectual courage has value, scholarly debate deserves protection, and those who stand up for these principles will not stand alone.”
Thank you FAIR.
Congratulations on this victory, Professor. Should be unnecessary but today it is very necessary. More of these Ws, please!