Professors: UNC violated its policies with professor’s suspension after right-wing push | Opinion

On Sept. 29, the University of North Carolina placed Professor Dwayne Dixon of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies on administrative leave. This action followed allegations of Dixon’s affiliation with an “anti-fascist” and “anti-racist” organization. Just two days earlier, Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, the right-wing organization founded by Charlie Kirk, made a public post on X calling for Dixon’s termination.

The university’s rapid decision to suspend Dixon after this demand raised serious concerns among us, the full professors of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, about the institution’s commitment to academic freedom and free speech. The timing and circumstances strongly suggested that this action was not grounded in any legitimate internal review, but instead in response to outside political pressure.

The university’s policies provide only three justifications for placing a faculty member on administrative leave: incompetence, egregious dereliction of duty as an employee or evidence of criminal conduct indicating danger to the campus community. None of these applied in Dixon’s case. He had recently earned a promotion, his teaching evaluations and classroom observations are consistently excellent, and his courses, including one of the largest and most popular at UNC, routinely fill. No complaints from students or campus police had been lodged against him. As for criminal allegations, the only instance dates back to 2017, and that case was dismissed because it was found that Dixon had committed no wrongdoing.

By the university’s standards, there was no justification for this action. In proceeding without evidence of misconduct or danger, the university violated its commitment to due process, a principle enshrined in its policies to ensure that faculty are protected against arbitrary or politically motivated actions.

The harms caused by this decision were significant and wide-reaching. Dixon was subjected to reputational harm and potential threats of violent reprisals. Nearly 300 students enrolled in his courses faced sudden and disruptive changes to their education. Substitute instructors could not provide the continuity, expertise and mentorship that students deserve. Faculty and staff in the department were negatively impacted, forced to take on emergency teaching loads, arrange replacements and respond to new security threats. The department even received threatening communications, while the university diverted limited resources to cover replacement instruction.

Especially troubling was the chilling effect on free speech and academic life on campus. By suspending a faculty member seemingly in response to the demands of an external organization, the university undermined the principles of free inquiry, intellectual diversity and rigorous debate. It endangered every member of our community, sending a clear signal that faculty could be targeted not for misconduct, but for their ideas, affiliations or areas of research.

We condemned this action in the strongest terms and requested an urgent meeting with the chancellor and other decision makers. Following widespread outcry and a warning from the American Civil Liberties Union, the university reinstated Dixon on Oct. 3.

While we welcome his reinstatement, we remain deeply concerned about the precedent set by this episode. We continue to call on the university to publicly affirm its unwavering commitment to free speech and academic freedom, to engage in transparent dialogue with faculty, staff and students about this incident and to ensure that no member of the campus community faces retaliation for exercising constitutionally protected rights.

The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech as a cornerstone of a democratic society. As a public institution, UNC bears not only a legal obligation to uphold this right, but also an ethical responsibility to model it as a defining element of higher education. To abdicate this responsibility is to betray the mission of the university. We therefore stand together in solidarity with Professor Dixon and call on the administration to ensure that such a grave injustice is never repeated.

Morgan Pitelka, the Bernard L. Herman Distinguished Professor, is the former chair of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and former director of the Carolina Asia Center. This opinion editorial was co-authored with UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Professors Mark Driscoll, Pamela Lothspeich, Robin Visser, Claudia Yaghoobi and Nadia Yaqub.

This story was originally published October 10, 2025 at 8:57 AM.