On June 11, 2024, Larry Chavis, a clinical professor of economics at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, posted on LinkedIn that the university had declined to renew his contract after reviewing video footage of his lectures, recorded without his knowledge.

Prior to his contract nonrenewal, Chavis, who is also a vocal advocate for Indigenous and LGBTQ+ rights, had taught at Kenen-Flagler for 18 years. He had reportedly clashed with the business school’s administration previously regarding statements that he had made in class. According to his course evaluations, some students wrote that Chavis’ opinions on race and inequality made them uncomfortable in class. However, Chavis’ evaluations appeared largely positive, with 95 percent of students agreeing that Chavis “created a learning environment that made students feel included and valued.”

On April 22, Chavis posted to LinkedIn a letter that he had received from Christian Lundblad, a professor of finance and the senior associate dean for faculty and research. The letter stated that, following complaints from some students, the administration had recorded four of Chavis’ class sessions using the classroom’s Panopto camera. The camera is typically used by professors to record their lectures so that students can view them later.

Lundblad’s letter claimed “Notice is not required to record classes, and we do record classes without notice in response to concerns raised by students.” However, according to Kenen-Flagler’s information technology policies, “class recordings are distributed for the exclusive use of students,” and that “classes are only recorded with the expressed permission of faculty.” According to Chavis, he never approved the recording of his classes. In addition, the list of best practices disseminated by the Office of the Provost’s states that “a recorded classroom lecture should not be used for any purpose except to meet the educational objectives of that particular class.”

In June 2024, Kenen-Flagler administrators informed Chavis that his contract would not be renewed. The reason for the decision was not provided. As a clinical professor, Chavis’ role was not tenure-track; therefore the university did not need to provide a reason for his contract nonrenewal.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the denial of an otherwise meritorious appointment to a professor in apparent retaliation for the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and academic freedom. Scholars at Risk is further concerned about the use of classroom recording technologies without clarity on how and when recordings can be used for disciplinary purposes. University authorities have an obligation to refrain from retaliatory actions intended to punish, restrict, or chill the exercise of academic freedom–including public commentary on one’s own institution–and should employ transparent, fair processes when engaging in disciplinary actions. In addition to the harm to the immediate victim, suspensions stemming from such activity undermine academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/academic–/2024/06/17/unc-dismisses-professor-after-secretly-recording
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/academic-freedom/2024/05/20/letter-says-unc-chapel-hill-secretly-records
https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2024/07/university-larry-chavis
https://www.theassemblync.com/education/higher-education/unc-chapel-hill-recorded-professor-larry-chavis/
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/larry-chavis_for-the-first-time-in-my-career-im-pretty-activity-7188543152129998849-R3C7/
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7206116410933018624/