Earlier this month, the University of North Texas paid one of its professors $725,000 to settle a First Amendment and defamation lawsuit, putting an end to a legal fight that started at a markedly different moment for universities and conversations about free speech.
In 2020, music theory professor Timothy Jackson was harshly criticized by peers and students for an academic journal entry allegedly espousing anti-Black sentiment. Five years later, Jackson is set to receive an award from Columbia University for defending the same writings that colleagues had previously said constituted professional misconduct.
The controversy that Jackson sparked and the suit that followed are a flashpoint in a larger battle playing out at universities across the country, which have been at the center of tense public discussions on what should and shouldn鈥檛 be considered protected speech.
They are also illustrative of how school officials鈥� thinking on freedom of speech, racial equity and antisemitism has rapidly evolved in the years between the racial reckoning that followed George Floyd鈥檚 murder and the ongoing national backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion programs and pro-Palestinian protests at university campuses.
Jackson鈥檚 controversial writing at the center of the lawsuit was in response to a 2019 plenary talk from New York professor Philip Ewell focused on 20th-century Jewish music theorist Heinrich Schenker. Ewell called Schenker an 鈥渁rdent racist鈥� and argued his German nationalist roots trickled into modern music theory.
Jackson, the founder of a UNT-published journal focused on Schenker and Schenkerian studies, saw a video of Ewell鈥檚 talk and ran a series of responses to Ewell鈥檚 claims in the journal. Of the 15 pieces responding to Ewell鈥檚 talk, 10 were opposed to Ewell鈥檚 arguments and five were in support.
Jackson wrote one of the 15 responses. He claimed Ewell ignored Schenker鈥檚 experience with antisemitism and that Ewell, who is Black, contributed to 鈥淏lack antisemitism.鈥� Jackson also wrote that many Black people do not grow up in homes that value classical music and that Ewell was 鈥渦ninterested in bringing Blacks up to 鈥榮tandard鈥� so they can compete鈥� in the field of music theory.
Several faculty and students at UNT criticized Jackson鈥檚 response as racist and called for his resignation. A 2020 signed by 17 UNT professors said the journal鈥檚 issue responding to Ewell鈥檚 talk 鈥渋s replete with racial stereotyping and tropes, and includes personal attacks directed at Dr. Ewell.鈥�
The university conducted a review, ultimately removing Jackson from his position as editor and suspending the journal鈥檚 publication.
Jackson sued UNT and several of his colleagues in 2021, claiming the university limited his free speech by restricting the journal and that his colleagues defamed him by calling him a racist.
鈥淧rofessor Jackson鈥檚 defense of Schenker and criticisms of Ewell 鈥� as well his role in publishing a symposium that was largely (though not entirely) critical of Ewell鈥檚 denunciations of Schenker 鈥� incited an academic mob,鈥� Jackson鈥檚 initial lawsuit read. 鈥淩ather than defend Professor Jackson鈥檚 academic freedom, the University of North Texas and its administrators joined the witch hunt.鈥�
The case began in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted enrollment numbers for colleges significantly, 鈥渃ompounding鈥� potential concerns about reputational harms, said Lindsie Rank, director of campus rights advocacy for the Foundation of Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE.
Because of those fears, Rank said UNT鈥檚 reaction to Jackson鈥檚 writing was part of a broader trend. Colleges across the country often crack down on controversial expression out of concern for the perceived consequences it might have on their institutions, Rank said.
鈥淲hile sometimes, like in this case, it has a political bend, it's not always about politics, and is often more centered around reputational concerns that the institution has,鈥� Rank said. 鈥淎t FIRE, we deal with situations every day where faculty members are facing investigations or discipline for unpopular expression that they've engaged in.鈥�
FIRE supported Jackson鈥檚 First Amendment case, but discouraged him from including defamation claims against other faculty. Rank said defamation suits can sometimes also be used to chill protected speech. UNT's settlement with Jackson dissolved the defamation claims against the other professors.
Jackson鈥檚 lawsuit sought to restore his journal and reestablish his position as editor, he and his lawyer said. It wasn鈥檛 until late 2024 that the university approached him to settle the case, they said.
The money was a final addition after five years of attempted settlement negotiations, Jackson said.
鈥淵ears ago they should have said that [they would settle], and they could have settled it for nothing and just restored the journal, restored my good name, and it wouldn't cost anything,鈥� he said.
UNT will not admit guilt for any of the claims brought in the suit, according to the settlement. The university did not respond to a request for comment.
Jackson鈥檚 settlement with UNT is not the most recent clash centered around free speech concerns and accusations of bigotry at the Denton college. In March, five state lawmakers sent a letter to the university demanding that a student exhibit entitled 鈥淧erceptions: Observations & Reflections of the Western Muslim鈥� .
The representatives said the pieces on display were inflammatory, antisemitic and falsely calling the war in Gaza 鈥済enocide.鈥� Israel has been accused of targeting civilians during the war multiple times, including by a commission.
Jackson, too, felt the exhibit was out of line, specifically one piece displaying a woman and child with a target on their back. He said that accusations of civilian attacks by Israel were false, and thus the piece had no place in the exhibit.
鈥淚've given that some thought, and some people have said, 鈥榳ell, you're only for free speech when you agree, right?鈥欌�� Jackson said. 鈥淪o let me put it like this: I'm Jewish. My grandparents came here to avoid antisemitism. Half of my family was murdered in the Holocaust, and I found the exhibition there offensive as a Jew. I think it's based on defamation, not truth.鈥�
Ultimately, one piece from the exhibit was taken down early. Neither of the two student artists involved in the piece responded to requests for comment.
Rank said limiting the ability to discuss certain ideas on campus should be treated with caution because students could miss out on discussions that challenge them to think critically about the world.
In Texas, concerns over massive pro-Palestinian demonstrations last year led to the passage of two state laws and in disciplinary proceedings, which free speech advocates fear will have a chilling effect on expression on campus.
The Texas Legislature also passed , which will grant university systems鈥� governor-appointed boards of regents the ability to reject courses that do not align with the state鈥檚 workforce demands. Proponents of the bill say it will help crack down on the state鈥檚 2023 ban on DEI initiatives, while opponents worry it gives political appointees too much power to determine what is taught on campus.
Jackson said the Legislature鈥檚 2023 DEI ban was a 鈥渉uge victory鈥� that removed university trainings he found 鈥渞idiculous and simplistic.鈥� He does, however, worry that future laws may encroach on academics鈥� ability to study in their fields acutely.
鈥淚 think a lot of people are aware that freedom of speech is really under threat from both sides, both the extreme left and the extreme right, and also from this ideology of DEI and also the attack on meritocracy,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淚 think that we have to be really focused on the notion that universities are out to pursue truth.鈥�
Jackson said that if he could go back, he would probably contextualize some of what he wrote in the journal and provide more citations, but that he wouldn鈥檛 change the thesis of the piece.
He said he鈥檚 considering placing all of the exhibits from his legal case, including the journal and depositions from the suit, on a website so that anyone can see all sides 鈥� his, Ewell鈥檚, and the university鈥檚 鈥� and reach their own conclusions.
鈥淓ven if it does [bring renewed criticism], I think people have to face the music, so to speak,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淭hey do have to acknowledge what they did, and I acknowledge what I did, and I'm willing to do that on every level.鈥�