A fired Palm Beach Atlantic University professor is now filing an official complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming he is the victim of a far-right “anti-woke crusade.” Samuel Joeckel was released from his university position in March following a month-long delay in his contract renewal, which he attributed to concerns over a “racial justice” course he was teaching. An internal memo from PBAU suggests that Joeckel was fired for deviating from the focus of the course, but the white professor now claims that his termination was “motivated by race.”
In a statement published Monday to his Instagram page, Joeckel wrote that he was “taking the next step towards justice” in response to his firing and said he was filing a Charge of Discrimination with the EEOC.
“PBA’s decision to terminate my employment was motivated by race, and I look forward to working with the EEOC as they investigate the unlawful actions taken by PBA. I am hopeful that this will not only right the wrongs that PBA committed against me, but also protect faculty members at PBA and other schools.”
In his statement, Joeckel also accused the Christian university of trying to “control and silence” faculty members by “requiring them to affirm anti-LGBTQ+ statements as a condition of employment.” The statement also included an afterword from Joeckel’s lawyer, who stated,
“It is undisputed that Palm Beach Atlantic University was motivated by race… in its decision to terminate Dr. Joeckel’s employment.”
Joeckel’s attorney has argued that his client was not fired due to his skin color but rather due to “associational discrimination” from teaching a course on racial justice.
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While PBAU has not publicly addressed Joeckel’s claims, an internal memo from Provost Chelly Templeton published by The Palm Beach Post indicates a different story. According to Templeton, in addition to complaints the school had received about “indoctrination” in the classroom, the university was concerned that the English professor was deviating from course objectives to lecture on racial justice topics. As recently as last month, Templeton said she was trying to “better understand the pedagogical rationale for including these extensive lectures in a Composition II class.”
“Faculty are free to choose a theme that unifies their Composition II course,” Templeton says in the email. “However, it is important that the Composition II objectives remain the focus of the course.”
According to a course description on the university’s website, ENG 1123 or “English Composition II” is intended to teach,
“Intermediate expository and argumentative prose with emphasis placed on refining analytical reading skills, developing an informed approach to the research paper, and applying the rules and conventions of English prose.”
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Still, Joeckel has doubled down by filing a complaint with the EEOC, possibly as the precursor to a lawsuit. After the contract renewal deadline expired in March, Joeckel wrote on social media that he was a victim of a “toxic political ideology.”
“The timing of this is not a coincidence as we are dealing with an ‘anti-woke’ crusade from Governor DeSantis and other far-right politicians and activists.”
“I will have no choice but to pursue my legal options to fight back and show PBA and other institutions that they cannot get away with this,” he added.
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