AFT Local 500, “Report on the Case of Dr. Lee Lorch” (May 1950)

Full Text: “Report on the Case of Dr. Lee Lorch at the Pennsylvania State College”

About this Artifact

In April 1950, Dr. Lee Lorch was fired from Penn State without a valid reason.  In Lorch’s defense, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 500 submitted a report in May 1950 to the Pennsylvania Federation of Labor.¹ The report suggests the reason Dr. Lorch was fired was not due to a lack of personal qualifications as indicated by administrators. Instead, the correspondence explains that although Lorch was recommended for reappointment by the head of the math department, administrators questioned him about his civil rights activism and his association with the Communist party.  The AFT claimed there was no valid reason for Lorch’s dismissal and that his firing violated his academic freedom—a professor’s right as a civilian to freedom of speech.² 

Lorch was not the only professor fired during this time.  In the 1950s, McCarthyism created social tensions on campuses throughout the U.S. and some universities began requiring professors to sign loyalty oaths to prove they were not involved with the Communist party. Those who refused or pleaded the 5th amendment could be dismissed.³ Advocates for the professors argued their academic freedom was being violated, but to no avail.  The faculty had no legal power since the statement of academic freedom endorsed by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) was not an official policy at universities, but just a principle that should be followed.  At the same time, the Civil Rights movement began gaining momentum. The struggle for civil rights was hindered by McCarthyism as people in power tried to discredit the movement as a communist conspiracy. For example, the FBI investigated activists Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. on suspicion of communism.⁴ However, this appeared to be a guise to discredit and slow down or stop the movement.   

Both McCarthyism and racial discrimination were evident on the Penn State campus. There were rumors of the FBI recruiting students to spy on liberal professors and talk of administrators circulating blacklists of left-wing instructors.⁵ Local barbers refused to cut black students’ hair.⁶ And when civil rights activist W.E.B. DuBois was a guest speaker on campus, he was not allowed to eat in the hotel dining room.⁷ It was in this climate that Lorch was fired. Lorch’s refusal to discuss his political affiliations combined with the fact that he was instrumental in helping desegregate a housing development in New York City can be viewed as possible explanations for his dismissal.      

The AFT realized there was an urgent need for legally binding protections for faculty.  Therefore, their report utilized several strategies to persuade Penn State to adopt a formal academic policy. First, the AFT defined academic freedom as endorsed by the AAUP. Next, the AFT noted that during Lorch’s questioning he was not given any statement of academic freedom responsibility to subscribe to, rather he was asked repeatedly to explain his own conception to the college, establishing there was no formal policy in place. The AFT also realized that defending Lorch’s character and calling upon the ethical responsibility of Penn State to observe the principle of academic freedom would not work. Recognizing the university’s vague commitment to “academic freedom” was not enough to protect the faculty, the AFT’s goal was to make the meaning of academic freedom explicit rather than just an idea that should be followed. Therefore, the AFT argues that “It seems essential for the protection of the college and the faculty alike that the College Administration clearly define its conception of academic freedom and the responsibility of all members of the staff to the College.”⁸

During the McCarthy Era, anti-communism functioned to slow the gradually emerging civil rights movement. Lorch’s case left behind a legacy of universities adopting and implementing formal academic freedom policies.  In November of 1950, seven months after Lorch was dismissed, Penn State adopted the formal HR 64 Academic Freedom Policy.⁹ After almost 70 years, the policy is still in place and continues to shape our institutional life.   

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