Resources for Higher Education Workers

Faculty First Responders research has found that 40% of faculty members targeted by Campus Reform in 2020 received threats of harm following the publication of stories about them. In some cases, administrators and presidents receive calls to discipline or fire professors, staff members, administrators, graduate employees, or postdocs named in right-wing news stories. Invitations for talks, funding opportunities, and job offers may be revoked in the wake of negative press. After a targeted attack begins, the situation can spiral fairly quickly, so it is best to take a number of early precautions.

Please reach out to us any time at facultyfirstresponders@gmail.com with further questions or additional resources.

Best Practices at All Times

Have your union representative’s and/or your AAUP chapter‘s current contact information on hand.
Be aware that any scholar-teacher is eligible to join the AAUP (American Association of University Professors), including adjunct faculty and graduate students, even if your institution does not host an AAUP chapter. All AAUP members are now also members of AFT (the American Federation of Teachers) and thus are eligible for all AFT member benefits).
Know how to contact your institution’s ombudsperson.
Bookmark links to your institution’s faculty and employee handbooks, collective bargaining agreements, faculty/staff senate resolutions, and other institutional documents related to academic freedom, employee free speech, and the teaching of controversial topics. AAUP chapters and union locals can help compile this information.
Familiarize yourself with the most relevant AAUP policies and statements. Among these should be the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure and the 1966 Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities.
Familiarize yourself with relevant statements from academic unions, like the American Federation of Teachers’ Nov. 9, 2023 resolution, “Condemning Hate and Affirming Freedom of Speech on Campus.” Consult AFT’s Free Exchange Resources page for more information and links to relevant resolutions and statements.
Use only a personal email account for organizing, political, and other work not directly connected to your job. Remember that your employer has access to your institutional email, and you may lose access if placed on leave. While the details vary from state to state, for those working at public institutions, any accounts used in the line of work (a .edu email account, Gmail, Iphone texts, phone records, etc.) is likely subject to Freedom of Information (FOIA) or state public record requests. Some higher education workers regularly delete material in these accounts to reduce the amount of content available to employers and the public. If not deleted, employees may be legally responsible for providing these records.
Lock down your digital identity.
Set up a Google Alert for your own name to track media mentions. Use quotation marks around your name to narrow the search results.
Block the top right-wing news outlets from your social media feeds, along with any known “student correspondents” who may be “reporting” on your campus.
Set your social media accounts to private or friends only. That being said, for many higher education workers, a public social media profile is an important part of professional and scholarly work. Don’t self-censor out of fear of what the right-wing media might pick up. However, if you are only interested in using social media to stay in touch with friends and family, making your accounts private can help buffer you from unwanted attention.
Make it clear on all social media accounts that the views expressed are your own and not those of your employer. This is in accordance with guidance from AAUP on academic freedom and extramural utterances.
In your syllabus, state that audio, video, or other recording of class sessions and activities is prohibited unless explicitly approved in writing by the instructor (typically for accessibility reasons). Include college policies, codes of conduct, etc., pertaining to recording, intellectual property, and student privacy as well. Explain the pedagogical necessity of maintaining trust and freedom of expression in the learning environments.
Consider purchasing professional liability insurance, which can help cover legal expenses that might accrue as a result of targeted harassment.
Check whether your union or professional organization offers free or discounted legal advice. Members of the AAUP and AFT can consult with a lawyer for a half hour for free and purchase discounted legal services.
Follow these additional “Best Practices for Conducting Risky Research and Protecting Yourself from Online Harassment.”
Work with colleagues and administrators to create a campus response plan. Encourage your institution to create campus-specific resources for responding to political attacks on employees. These procedures should include clear guidelines for each type of worker and administrator, and they should lay out the existing policies and campus resources. UMass Amherst’s Harassment Response and Prevention Plan is a great model, as is the University of Iowa’s Faculty Support and Guidance document. Even a department-level response plan can be incredibly helpful.

If Contacted for Comment

When contacted for comment by a journalist, research the publication they work for before responding. A basic Google search should give you a good sense of the topics they cover and the types of stories they publish, as well as what the journalist has previously written.
Ignoring right-wing “news” outlets is a completely reasonable response. These venues are designed to provoke outrage at higher education workers whose speech they disagree with. Responding to their requests for comment can serve to legitimize them.
If interested in providing comment, do so in writing.

If a Story Is Published about You

Contact trusted colleagues, administrators, and/or supervisors to inform them of the story and ask for their support. If helpful, provide them with the FFR Resources for Administrators link.
Contact your union representative, AAUP chapter, and/or ombudsperson, inform them of the story’s publication, and ask for their support and advice.
Follow guidelines for Protecting Yourself during Online Harassment Attacks.

If Things Get Ugly

If your home address has been published (doxxed), consider staying with friends or family until the threats and harassment subside.
Ask friends and colleagues for help with your communications. They can filter hateful messages from your email and social media. Ask them to save the emails, phone recordings, and screenshots as a record, but they don’t need to share the content with you. Consider forwarding copies to relevant administrators so that they are aware of the extent of the harassment.
Consult Right To Be’s Storytelling Project, which provides a platform for people targeted in online harassment to share stories and resources.
If desired, consult and contact campus safety resources. You may also consider alternatives to involving safety officers. Here are alternatives to the police in major cities.
Be aware that sending a threatening email is “unlawful communication.”
Companies such as Norton LifeLock and DeleteME (paid security services) can locate sites containing your personal information and remove it from the internet.
If you are an AFT or AAUP member and need some mental health support, consider taking advantage of their Talkspace therapy member benefit and/or trauma counseling member benefit. Being bullied, harassed, or threatened in or around the workplace (and we understand that to include threats made via institutional email addresses, phones, etc.) is a qualifying event for the AFT/AAUP trauma counseling benefit.
If you feel that you need to record any of your interactions with students, administrators, reporters, or others, consult this guide to the legality of recording in different states.

If Your Institution Does Not Protect Your Academic Freedom

Contact your union, AAUP chapter, and/or faculty senate committee charged with issues of academic freedom.
Contact facultyfirstresponders@gmail.com.