Note: The accompanying video is from CBS 17 coverage on Wednesday, Oct. 1.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) — After 2 days of protest, as well as an assessment from university officials, UNC-Chapel Hill has reinstated a professor who was previously placed on administrative leave for allegedly inciting political violence.
In an email sent to CBS 17, officials at UNC said they decided Teaching Associate Professor Dwayne Dixon could return to campus and resume his duties as a professor immediately.
“The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has performed a thorough threat assessment of Teaching Associate Professor Dwayne Dixon based on recent reports and expressions of concern that he is an advocate for political violence,” said Vice Chancellor for Communications and Marketing Dean Stoyer. “The Carolina Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Team consulted with the UNC System security office and with local law enforcement, undertaking a robust, swift and efficient review of all the evidence.”
According to the vice chancellor, officials found no basis to conclude that he posed a threat to UNC, nor did he violate any university policy.
“The University continues to reaffirm its commitment to rigorous debate, respectful engagement, and open dialogue in support of free speech, while fulfilling our responsibility to protect the physical safety of the Carolina community,” said Stoyer.
Dixon was placed on administrative leave earlier this week amidst an investigation that alleged he advocated for “politically motivated violence.” Initially, the university threatened the professor with a punishment as severe as termination.
A statement from the American Association of University Professors, which condemned the university’s actions, said the “egregious violation” done to Dixon was from “baseless” unverified social media posts and flyers.
A protest took place at UNC following the announcement of the investigation, where students voiced their concerns that his departure would cause a ripple effect across campus.
“There is already a pretty intense atmosphere of censorship on campus, and the administration placing Professor Dixon on leave certainly will exacerbate that,” said UNC Professor Michael Palm.
The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina also sent a letter to UNC demanding Dixon’s reinstatement, stating the suspension violated the First Amendment.
“This is a victory for free speech, protest, and collective action, all of which are at the heart of what the First Amendment protects,” said Ivy Johnson, the staff attorney for the ACLU of North Carolina, in a statement. “Public universities should not be in the business of policing their employees’ personal speech and political affiliations. Professor Dixon’s administrative leave was a blatant First Amendment violation and we are gratified that UNC ultimately came to the right decision.”
After his reinstatement, Dixon issued the following statement:
“We have been successful in defeating this attempt to suppress my free speech. This was always an issue that threatens all of us. I’m deeply grateful to the many people who leapt courageously to this struggle. In challenging this suspension, my goals were twofold: most urgently, to return to my classrooms and continue the important work of critically examining the world and our relationship to it with my smart, thoughtful, and curious students. Secondly, I wanted to disabuse UNC’s leaders of the notion that they can infringe on our constitutional right to speak and assemble as we choose.
“The administration will likely attempt to claim that I was placed on leave for ‘safety reasons’ and point to my past actions in defense of people protesting white supremacy. UNC leaders, in their eagerness to ban me from my classroom and campus, embody the real danger to our rights, as they rush to appease those who seek to choke diversity of political thought.
“I believe in the anarchist principles of direct democracy, autonomy of thought and action, and horizontal community. Indeed, my removal from campus, a crisis created by the feckless decisions of UNC administrators, has been a beautiful opportunity to witness these principles take shape in our community. Through our vast network of care, courage, and creativity, we have lifted up a defiant message: we will not be deterred in ensuring that free speech and debate are defended.
“Throughout my years at UNC-Chapel Hill, I have sought to build trust with my colleagues and students through honesty, fairness, humility, respect and open communication. The actions of UNC’s leaders betray what I had believed to be shared values in the best traditions of this institution. The actions of the administration signal to faculty and students alike that we should think with trepidation and speak with fear, lest some unnamed accusers target us for administrative discipline, or with threats, or worse. I will not be intimidated. With the solidarity and help of so many, I wish to enact another possibility: one of vibrant, conscientious, ethical engagement, without fear of reprisal or silencing.
“I am overjoyed to be reinstated so that I may return to the beloved campus from which I had been banned for resolutely advocating anti-racism and anti-fascism. I will continue to speak and act for the freedom of all people, everywhere.
FREE PALESTINE.”