COLLEGE OF THE MAINLAND PRESIDENT RECOMMENDS MARXIST PROFESSOR BE FIRED

Tenured in 2002 over the objections of civic leaders, 'Red David' now locked out of his campus office

In 2002, several civic leaders and I tried to keep David Michael Smith, a political science professor and avowed Marxist, from being tenured by the College of the Mainland Board of Trustees. We did not oppose his tenure because he was a Marxist. There were several other avowed Marxists on the faculty. Had ‘Red David’ merely taught his students the difference between capitalism and socialism, we would not have tried to keep him from being tenured, but he went far beyond that.

We spoke out because Red David was teaching his students that capitalism exploits the workers and oppresses the masses, that American foreign policy is imperialistic, that our military was murdering hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians every year and dropping cluster bombs that were dismembering children, that our government favors the rich at the expense of the poor, that our criminal justice system is racist, etc., etc., etc.

We were excoriated by the college’s trustees, the college’s administration and by Red David’s supporters, including other faculty members and a slew of his students. They accused us of attacking academia's holy grail of academic freedom. The college’s trustees quickly granted him tenure.

Some months later, Ralph Holm, chairman of the trustees, came up to me at a Veterans Day ceremony and told me: "I’m sorry, but we had no choice [but to grant David Smith tenure] because he was so popular with the students." My response was, "So what! Hitler was very popular with the German people." Holm's face turned a purplish red and he spun around to make a hasty retreat for the exit. Needless to say, we have not spoken since.

Now they want to fire Red David. Sources have informed me that the college administration has locked Red David out of his office by having the locks on the door changed when he was off-campus.

On Wednesday I sent Holm the following email: “I have just heard that the president of COM want's to fire Red David. Remember when you approached me and told me you had no choice but to approve his tenure because he was so popular with the students? He is still the most popular COM teacher. If you couldn't deny him tenure because of his popularity, then how can you justify firing him when he is just as popular with the students as he was before you granted him tenure?”

TEXAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE SEEKS DISMISSAL OF TENURED PROFESSOR
by Nick DeSantis

The Chronicle of Higher Education
May 23, 2013

The administration of the College of the Mainland, a two-year institution in Texas City, Tex., is recommending that a tenured professor who has clashed repeatedly with its leaders be fired, according to the The Daily News, in Galveston, Tex.

David M. Smith, a professor of political science and president of the college’s employee union, has criticized the college’s administration and has fought with the institution in court over what he said were violations of his First Amendment right to free speech. The college awarded him tenure a decade ago despite the objections of some local residents, who took issue with his self-described Marxist views.

The college’s president, Beth Lewis, told the newspaper that the recommendation to terminate Mr. Smith stemmed from his performance as an employee, and was not an attempt at retaliation, though she did not discuss the details of the recommendation.

Mr. Smith said the paperwork informing him of his termination, which must be approved by the college’s board in order to take effect, contained no mention of his teaching or job duties. But he said there was mention of e-mails he wrote concerning employees’ rights during elections. Ms. Lewis said Mr. Smith has the right to address the college’s board before it takes action on the recommendation and to ask for an extension.