Last month it was reported that Idris Robinson, a tenure-track assistant professor of philosophy at Texas State University, is suing several university officials for violating his constitutional rights after they told him he would have his contract terminated in May, because of complaints about a talk he gave last year on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

See this post for details. Now, an effort is underway to put public pressure on the university to reverse its decision.

A public letter supporting Dr. Robinson and calling for a boycott of Texas State University has been published and is open for additional signatories.

The letter states:

We are deeply concerned by Texas State University’s (TXST) decision to remove Professor Idris Robinson from his role as an Assistant Professor of Philosophy. Upon examination of the available evidence, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Professor Robinson’s removal was politically motivated and based on his speech, which violates academic freedom, the First Amendment, and university policy. Furthermore, we believe the university may have failed to follow its own procedural protocols during his removal…

We, the undersigned, condemn Professor Robinson’s removal and demand that Texas State University reinstate him immediately. We also call for an academic boycott of Texas State University until such time as Professor Robinson has been reinstated, above all a ban on giving talks at the University, irrespective of academic field. We also encourage individual academics and academic institutions and departments to write and publish letters to TXST officials supporting Professor Robinson’s immediate reinstatement (including the chancellor, the administrators, and the board of regents).

The full letter, which the authors report has been endorsed by the Texas State Employees Union, is here.