On September 29, 2025, the University of North Carolina (UNC) placed Dwayne Dixon, a professor of Asian and Middle Eastern studies, on administrative leave over alleged links to an antifascist group.
On September 24, Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, the group founded by the late Charlie Kirk (see report), posted on X fliers that had been posted around the campus of Georgetown University reading “Hey Fascist! Catch!” The fliers referred to an engraving on the casing of bullets allegedly left behind by the individual accused of killing Kirk. The fliers included a QR code to a Google form for individuals to express interest in forming a Georgetown chapter of the John Brown Gun Group, an affiliate of Redneck Revolt, a self-described pro-worker and anti-racist “community defense group” that disbanded in 2019. There was no indication as to who posted the fliers. Soon after Kovalet’s post, Fox News published an article linking Dixon to Redneck Revolt. Kolvet posted again on X, linking to the Fox News article, and stating, “now we find out professors at ‘elite’ schools are members of this group and its offshoots…This professor must be immediately fired and the group/network investigated.”
UNC responded by placing Dixon on administrative leave pending a threat assessment, saying that doing so was necessary to “[protect] the integrity” of its inquiry. This prompted student and faculty protests and an ACLU letter threatening legal action for violating Dixon’s constitutional rights. The university reinstated Dixon on October 3rd. According to a UNC spokesperson, the university had conducted a threat assessment and “found no basis to conclude that [Dixon] poses a threat to University students, staff, and faculty, or has engaged in conduct that violates University policy.”
Scholars at Risk is concerned about a university placing a faculty member on leave without due process and in an apparent attempt to satisfy the demands of persons outside of the university. In addition to academic freedom, academics should enjoy the full scope of rights as all other persons, including free expression, freedom of association, and due process. While universities have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their campus communities, they must exercise their security functions in a manner consistent with the rights of their employees as private citizens, and must refrain from retaliatory actions that punish, restrict, or chill employees’ exercise of their constitutional rights. Disciplining academic staff for exercising their rights undermines academic freedom and democratic society generally.
Sources:
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/academic-freedom/2025/10/02/unc-professor-leave-after-alleged-advocacy
https://ncnewsline.com/2025/10/08/unc-professor-suspended-for-anti-fascist-activism-returns-to-class/
https://ncnewsline.com/2025/10/03/unc-professor-dwayne-dixon-reinstated-after-suspension-over-anti-fascist-ties/
https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2025/09/breaking-unc-professor-placed-on-administrative-leave
https://dailytarheel.com/article/breaking-university-dwayne-dixon-reinstated-20251003
https://www.acluofnorthcarolina.org/suspension-of-professor-dwayne-dixon-in-violation-of-the-first-amendment/
https://unc-ch-aaup.org/assets/unc-ch-aaup-statement-on-dwayne-dixon.pdf