For professors, speaking engagements outside of the classroom are a common occurrence. Lectures, conferences, and panel discussions are excellent opportunities to share ideas and engage with others on important issues.
And after all, isn’t the discussion of ideas what academia is all about?
Unfortunately, the answer to that question is sometimes no, at least when professors try to express some views. And Dr. Allan Josephson, a distinguished professor at the University of Louisville, found out the hard way that his professional views were not welcome at his school.
A decorated career
Dr. Josephson led the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Louisville for nearly 15 years. When he arrived at the school in 2003, he took over a struggling program. After many years of careful research, dedicated leadership, and hard work, he helped it become nationally renowned, and the university greatly benefited from his work.
But Dr. Josephson’s amazing career at the University of Louisville came to an unexpected end.
In October 2017, Dr. Josephson participated in a panel discussion on gender dysphoria at the Heritage Foundation, a well-known think tank in Washington, D.C. There, Dr. Josephson expressed his professional view on treatments for children experiencing gender dysphoria.
What Dr. Josephson said on this panel led to his firing from the university. What could he have possibly said to elicit such a reaction?
Dr. Josephson expressed his view that medical professionals should seek to understand and treat the psychological issues that often cause this confusion, rather than rushing children into more radical, invasive, and aggressive treatments like puberty-blocking drugs and cross-sex hormones.
Speaking as a psychiatrist with over 35 years of experience, Dr. Josephson argued that children are not mature enough to make permanent, life-altering decisions of any kind, let alone medical ones such as this. And as other professionals in the field have pointed out, 80 to 95 percent of children who say they experience gender dysphoria naturally come to accept their biological sex over time.
But a few university faculty and staff did not like Dr. Josephson’s views.
It did not matter that his statements at the Heritage Foundation were backed with science. Nor did it matter that Dr. Josephson was expressing his personal views as an experienced professional on his own time at an event hundreds of miles from campus.
An unpleasant exit
Just a few weeks after the panel discussion, Dr. Josephson was demoted to the role of a junior faculty member. For the next year he was subjected to a hostile environment and belittling assignments. Then in February 2019, the university informed him that it would not renew his contract, ending his 40-year career.
Dr. Josephson was fired for what he said.
As Dr. Josephson points out, some in the scientific community are silencing professionals like himself on this topic in a way that would not occur in other fields.
Children who experience gender dysphoria need help, as do their parents. But as the medical community debates how best to treat these children, silencing professionals like Dr. Josephson helps no one. Dr. Josephson’s colleagues have a right to disagree with his professional views. But Dr. Josephson has a right to express those views.
“Universities should welcome differing viewpoints and encourage civil discourse in their academic communities,” says Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer, director of the ADF Center for Academic Freedom. “Speaking with conservative groups—or holding conservative views—should not be disqualifying for academic service. Unfortunately, the University of Louisville’s attempts to silence Dr. Josephson shut down debate and do a disservice to students and faculty, patients and families alike.”
That’s why ADF filed a lawsuit in federal court to defend the rights of Dr. Josephson and other professors like him. Dr. Josephson is an expert in his field. He was simply contributing to the public discussion on an important issue and trying to help people in doing so. Publicly funded universities aren’t required to praise Dr. Josephson for his views, but they cannot punish him for expressing them either.
Josephson v. Ganzel
- October 2017: Dr. Josephson participated in a panel discussion on gender dysphoria, speaking in his personal capacity.
- November 2017: The University of Louisville demoted Dr. Josephson.
- February 2019: The university informed Dr. Josephson that it would not renew his contract.
- March 2019: ADF attorneys filed a federal lawsuit against University of Louisville officials on behalf of Dr. Josephson.
- November 2022: ADF attorneys participated in oral argument in the case at a federal district court.
- March 2023: The district court ruled that Dr. Josephson was entitled to present his case to a jury of his peers, a decision the university then appealed.
- September 2024: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled in favor of Dr. Josephson, sending the case back to the district court for trial and rejecting the university officials’ claims for immunity.
