On September 17, 2025, Rider University dismissed Kate Ecke, an adjunct professor in the Department of Sociology, in response to social media posts that she made about the murdered political activist Charlie Kirk.

Kirk was killed on September 10, 2025. Ecke commented on Kirk’s killing on her personal Facebook account, saying, “I don’t care that Charlie Kirk got shot. Kids are being slaughtered in their classrooms and the same people crying outrage for him have nothing to say when it’s children in body bags. Spare me the hypocrisy. Charlie Kirk chose his platform—those kids never chose to die at school.” In a subsequent post, she wrote, “Mouth breathers: the whole message here is that no one deserves to be shot. At school. In a movie theatre. In a library. You’re missing the whole point of this.”

Following Ecke’s posts, Ecke and Rider University both received threats. Some of the threats targeting Ecke named the location of her and her husband’s offices and mentioned her child’s name.

On September 15, Ecke met with Rider Provost Kelly Bidle at Bidle’s request. During the meeting, Bidle informed Ecke that the university had received a threatening email targeting Ecke and the campus. Bidle did not tell Ecke what the specific threat was, but requested that Ecke cancel her class that was scheduled to be held later that day and hold her subsequent class session remotely.

On September 17, Ecke again met with Bidle at Bidle’s request. Bidle’s email to Ecke requesting the meeting mentioned that the campus had received another threat. At the meeting, Bidle informed Ecke that the university’s Senior Leadership Team and lawyer had reviewed her Facebook posts and determined that she was inciting violence. They informed her that she could either resign or be dismissed. When Ecke refused to resign, she was fired. In an email sent to faculty on September 18, Bidle wrote, “To be clear: the termination decision was not about differing viewpoints or the suppression of academic freedom, but academic freedom has its limits, particularly as it relates to extramural speech. Such speech, when accompanied by professional ethics, appropriate restraint and respect for others, remains a cornerstone of our mission. But community standards matter. Civil discourse matters. And safety certainly matters.”

All faculty at Rider University are members of a collective bargaining unit represented by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). The Rider AAUP chapter responded to Ecke’s firing with a facultywide email announcing that they would file a grievance against the university. The chapter accused the university of violating their collective bargaining contract with the union by which they agreed “not threaten, coerce, or discipline members of the bargaining unit because of what they say or what they do as private citizens.” On October 16, the university held a hearing with the Rider AAUP’s chief grievance officer and the university’s lawyer. On October 22, the university’s lawyer informed the AAUP that Ecke’s grievance case would be dismissed without reversing Ecke’s firing. No reason was given for the dismissal. At the time of writing, the AAUP was planning to move forward with arbitration.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the dismissal of a faculty member over personal public commentary outside of the university. SAR is also concerned about the university’s apparent attempt to justify the dismissal under a dangerously overbroad, if not disingenuous, interpretation of the “inciting violence” exception to general free expression. In addition to academic freedom, academics should enjoy the full scope of freedom of expression as all other persons. Universities have a responsibility not to restrict the freedom of expression (free speech) of their employees when they speak as private citizens, and must refrain from retaliatory actions that punish, restrict, or chill such private expression. Disciplining academic staff for private expression undermines academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://theridernews.com/breaking-adjunct-professor-terminated-for-political-facebook-posts/
https://patch.com/new-jersey/lawrenceville/rider-university-fires-adjunct-professor-facebook-comments-charlie-kirk
https://www.dailytargum.com/article/2fwscv9hacfa-20251110
https://theridernews.com/kate-ecke-hearing-update/
https://theridernews.com/faculty-union-fights-adjuncts-abrupt-firing-from-university/