Fowler School of Law Professor Denis Binder Publishes “A 2014 Primer on Academic Freedom, Tenure, First Amendment, and Faculty Self-Governance”
February 3, 2016
Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law Professor Denis Binder’s article “
A 2014 Primer on Academic Freedom, Tenure, First Amendment, and Faculty Self-Governance
” was recently published in
Legal Education in the 21st Century
.
From the article:
We enter the academic profession to teach, mentor, counsel, write, research, and publish. Academic freedom gives us the freedom to dissent, express controversial and non-controversial views, promulgate contrarian and perhaps non-politically correct views. Academy freedom provides the protection to explore, research, and propound unpopular, unexplored, or unquestioned theories. Yesterday’s “radical” idea may become tomorrow’s general consensus.
Academic freedom allows the non-conformist, the contrarian, the curmudgeon, the iconoclast, the lone wolf to stand alone on issues both within and outside the institution.
We strive to get along with our colleagues and administrators and expect to respect the views of those we disagree with as we expect them to respect us. We believe the Academy is a laboratory for seeking the truth where reasonable minds can often disagree.
However, personal experience tells us that the Academy is often not an idyllic world. Dissent may not be tolerated and decisions can be based on personality issues. Thus, we need to examine the protections available to faculty members. A critical caveat is that they may differ substantially between tenure and tenure track faculty versus the increasing ranks of contingent faculty.
Read the full article (p. 125-141).
Professor Binder’s career teaching Antitrust, Environmental Law, Torts and Toxic Torts at law schools nationwide spans four decades. He has served as a consultant to a variety of organizations, ranging from the Army Corps of Engineers to Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers. In September 1996, Professor Binder received the National Award of Merit from the Association of State Dam Safety Officials for his contributions to promoting dam safety over the preceding two decades. He graduated first in his class at the University of San Francisco School of Law and received his LL.M. and S.J.D. degrees from the University of Michigan Law School. Professor Binder served as the President of the Chapman University Faculty Senate during the 2006-2007 academic year and as chair of the Environmental Law Section of the Association of American Law Schools for 2011-2012 academic year. Other recent articles include “An Outsider’s Perspective on Istanbul’s Emergency Planning,” in the
Bahcesehir Law Review
in 2014, and “Looking Back to the Future: The Curmudgeon’s Guide to the Future of Environmental Law,” in the
Albany Law Review
in 2013.
