Micah Swartz, a mathematics professor at Troy University, sent correspondence to Alabama legislative officials in April expressing concerns about the Alabama Numeracy Act Course Review Committee and its impact on his institution’s curriculum development processes. In his letter, Swartz detailed various professional challenges he faced, noting that managing the committee’s oversight of Troy’s proposed undergraduate numeracy syllabi had proven particularly difficult compared to other job responsibilities.
Following the letter’s submission, Swartz’s department chair issued a disciplinary notice alleging unauthorized communication on behalf of the university. The chair contended that Swartz’s use of official university letterhead constituted representation of the institution in an official capacity, which had not been authorized. Subsequently, Swartz shared the disciplinary letter with his students, leading to a second disciplinary notice in May that cited unprofessional conduct as the reason.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression announced the case in a news release Thursday, calling for the university to rescind both disciplinary notices. FIRE’s director of faculty legal defense characterized the situation as problematic, arguing that faculty members at public institutions retain constitutional protections for petitioning government officials and speaking on matters involving public expenditures. According to FIRE, the university’s actions could establish a precedent discouraging faculty from engaging with legislative bodies about institutional concerns.
Troy University declined to discuss specific details of the case, citing confidential personnel matter protocols. However, a university spokesperson provided a statement indicating that Troy respects employees’ rights to express themselves as private citizens on public matters. The statement noted that employees communicating in a personal capacity should clearly indicate they do not represent the institution and ensure their statements could not reasonably be interpreted as institutional endorsement. Beyond the two disciplinary notices, the extent of any additional disciplinary actions remains unclear.
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