January 21, 2014 President Lesley Di Mare Administration 101 2200 Bonforte Blvd.

Pueblo, CO 81001-4901 Good morning, Our colleague Professor Tim McGettigan has brought a matter to the attention of the CSU-Pueblo Chapter of the AAUP which, we feel, requires the most strenuous intervention: Professor McGettigans campus e-mail account was deactivated because of a claimed violation of the campus Electronic Communications Policy, according to a letter he received from Deputy General Counsel Johnna Doyle. The AAUP believes that McGettigans e-mail that was cited in Doyles letter does not in any way whatsoever violate the Policy. Rather, the AAUP insists that this e-mail, and our colleagues other speeches and writings, are examples which clearly fall within the great tradition of academic freedom, in which scholars passionately advocate for what they think is true and valuable in their discipline, their pedagogy, and for the educational institutions they love. For the CSU-P administration to shut o McGettigans speech in this manner sends a message to the faculty, students, and public at large that dissenting views from current policy will simply not be tolerated. It also suggests an administration which has fundamentally abandoned the basic idea of academic freedom on which the health of higher education depends, and likewise abandoned any idea of working with faculty. For how can a faculty member speak openly in public when there is a fear of nonsensical, trumped-up charges being leveled if the speech is too disruptive of the administrations plans? The future of collaboration between faculty and administration at CSU-P is at stake, as is the national reputation of this institution. The article about the injustice done to Professor McGettigan in Inside Higher Ed on January 20, 2014, has drawn the attention of numerous academics from all over the country, many condemning your action. Your response to this article, which prompted an update on the IHE website, has enormously compounded the problem by upping the ante and implying that Professor McGettigan can in some way be compared to those who perpetrated mass killings in educational settings. Dr. Di Mare, we beg you to repudiate this terrible mistake. There is absolutely no evidence that McGettigans e-mail has or would cause any concern at all of anything more violent than an interesting debate nor does it intimidate, threaten, or harass other individuals, or [...] interfere with the ability of others to conduct university business, as the supposedly oending portion of the Electronic Communications Policy states. As a consequence, this ill-considered update to the IHE article elevates a public abrogation of the fundamental idea of academic freedom to the level of defamation of a valued, respected, and entirely non-violent colleague in a national forum!

It is unclear to the AAUP how or if this administration can regain the trust and support of our faculty, and of the academic community nationwide, after this mistake. First steps must include at least the following: 1. Immediate restoration of Professor McGettigans e-mail account. 2. A public apology to Professor McGettigan for deactivating his account and for the comparisons made in your statements as published in the updated IHE article. 3. A statement to the faculty and community here in Pueblo that the administration does and will respect academic freedom. 4. A further update to Inside Higher Ed accepting responsibility for this mistake regarding academic freedom on our campus and acknowledging the entirely unjust damage done to Professor McGettigans national reputation. 5. Perhaps some disciplinary action against Deputy Counsel Doyle for her terrible legal advice in the beginning, allowing this travesty to start, and then later allowing the CSU-P administration to defame Professor McGettigan in a public forum. The Chapter ocers would be happy to discuss any of the above points and other ideas for remediating the damage that has been done to Tim McGettigan, to academic freedom on our campus, and to our institutions reputation. Regards,

Carol Loats, President Jonathan Poritz, Vice-President Leticia Steen, Secretary CSU-Pueblo AAUP Chapter