1) McAdams violated Abbate's academic freedom (which involves teaching / class management).
2) He violated Abbate's right to mentorship by professors.
3) He should have realized Abbate would get hate mail; he’s a professor of political science who lists “public opinion” as a speciality, so he should have known that the foreseeable effects of his actions would be hate mail directed to Abbate.
4) The Open Letters did not ask that MU sanction him, only that MU officials publicly support Abbate, and that they talk with McAdams to explain professional ethics. Quoting the second one:
As for the behavior of Professor McAdams, I hope that members of your administration, such as Dean Holz or Interim Provost Callahan, will find the time to discuss with him what obligations a decent respect for the trust placed in us as faculty members entails with regard to mentoring graduate students, rather than using them callously and carelessly as a pawn in his political fulminating.
5) If McAdams feels his academic freedom is being impinged upon by MU’s actions, then he should contact the AAUP.
6) His claiming academic freedom for his blogging entails the freedom of members of the academic community (in this case the 415 signatories of the first Open Letter) to condemn his actions.
7) I wish Cheryl Abbate all the best in the rest of her studies and in her professional career.
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