John McAdams, political science professor who took Marquette to the state Supreme Court, dies – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
John McAdams, a Marquette University political science professor widely known for winning a 2018 free speech case against the university, has died, the university confirmed.
The circumstances surrounding McAdams’ death were not immediately clear late Thursday. He was 75, according to his author page at the U.S. Library of Congress.
McAdams was a professor at Marquette for nearly 45 years, and was a globally-recognized scholar on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He taught courses on American politics, public opinion, and voter behavior.
McAdams was probably most widely known for being at the center of a highly-politicized debate over freedom of speech and academic freedom, which started in November 2014 when he posted his thoughts on whether a Marquette graduate student instructor had barred a student from discussing an opposing view toward same-sex marriage during class.
McAdams posted his views on his personal blog, the Marquette Warrior, naming the graduate student instructor and listing her contact information online.
Marquette suspended McAdams and the professor sued. He ultimately won his case before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which ordered Marquette to immediately reinstate him. He had spent seven semesters on suspension at that point.
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The case became a cause cèlébre among those who believe liberal arts universities are liberal bastions that suppress conservative viewpoints. It was also seen as a win for the academic freedom of professors.
McAdams argued the court case was as much about a student not being allowed to express his views in a classroom — in this case, an opinion opposing gay marriage that is consistent with the doctrine of the Catholic Church.
Marquette maintained the case was never about freedom of speech, rather, the decision to post a student’s name and contact information publicly. The student ended up leaving Marquette after receiving “vile and threatening” messages in the wake of McAdams’ blog post.
Following the ruling, McAdams told the Journal Sentinel it was important to call out the graduate student’s “misconduct” in her role as an instructor.
“It’s absurd that when you find misconduct in a bureaucracy, you can’t go public with it,” he said. “Fighting a battle against bureaucracy is often much less effective than bringing sunlight to the situation.”
The university said in a statement Thursday that the campus community was mourning the loss.
“The Marquette community extends its deepest sympathies and prayers to Dr. McAdams’ family, friends colleagues and students,” the statement read.
Rick Esenberg, president and general counsel for the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, represented him in the case against Marquette.
“He was a guy who saw the university as a place where there would be competing ideas and that people would argue, sometimes vigorously, but they would co-exist,” he said.
McAdams also authored the 2011 book “JFK Assassination Logic: How to Think about Claims of Conspiracy.”
Before coming to Marquette, McAdams taught at Harvard University and Boston University and was a National Fellow at the Hoover Institution, according to his biography and curriculum vitae on Marquette’s website.
He earned his bachelor’s in sociology from the University of Alabama, a master’s in social studies education from Columbia University and a doctorate in political science from Harvard University.
Contact Devi Shastri at 414-224-2193 or DAShastri@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @DeviShastri.