CNN
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An English professor at Florida’s Palm Beach Atlantic University says his job is being reviewed after his employer said it received complaints that he was “confusing” students.
“The Racial Justice Unit has gotten me in hot water,” Sam Jokel told CNN.
Jokel said he has been teaching a unit on racial justice in classrooms for years without complaint until his provost and dean said on Wednesday they needed to talk to him “in private”., at the end of a class.
The two told her that her contract renewal for the next year would be put on hold as they investigated the material used in the Racial Justice Unit, They said.
Jokel was given a letter from the university, which he shared with CNN, informing him that a decision about his employment would be made by March 15.
“Told me he was concerned that I was motivating the students. That was the exact word he used: motivating,” Jokel said. “I didn’t know it was coming.”
Jokel said that his conversations with his employers indicated that the investigation was based on a parent’s complaint.
Palm Beach Atlantic University did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN on Saturday. University spokesperson said this on Friday CNN affiliate WPBF, “I have been advised that we cannot comment on any personnel matters.”
PBA is a private Christian university and its employee handbook Says, “Employment may be terminated at any time, without cause, at the discretion of the PBA.” The Institute does not offer tenure, there is a review process for employment decisions regarding senior faculty that is meant to protect academic independence.
Several students came to the defense of Jokel online. Lauren Carleton, who graduated in May, told CNN she took two of Joeckel’s classes and didn’t feel she was being pressured to think a certain way.
“He is open-minded, and never wants to force his agenda on the students; He makes students critical thinkers and open minded. That was my experience,” she said.
The review of Jokel’s employment comes as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has proposed plans Defund all diversity, equity and inclusion programs State Colleges and Universities in Florida. and his administration rejected Offered Advanced Placement African American Studies Curriculum in high schools.
DeSantis was on the PBA campus Wednesday for a news conference on a different matter.
While most of the governor’s recent education-related decisions may not directly affect the PBA, Joekel believes they are still setting a tone for the state.
“Of course I can’t say for sure about the connection, but things like this don’t happen in a vacuum. What happened to me is certainly influenced by a toxic political culture, and it is my opinion that the university is playing a role,” Jokel said.
“We don’t like to talk about racism,” he said. “We don’t like to have uncomfortable conversations.”