Problem #2[1]

Steven Salaita was a faculty member at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University from 2006 until late 2013. He was part of the English department and his academic interests include colonialism and Palestine. In addition, he was among a group of Virginia Tech faculty members who have called for boycotting Israeli academic institutions. Last October, Professor Salaita was offered a job at the University of Illinois’ Urbana-Champaign campus.

His offer letter, sent by Brian Ross, the interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (at the University of Illinois) stated the following:

I am recommending to the Provost that you be offered a position as a Professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, American Indian studies program, starting January 2014. Your recommended salary will be $85,000. You should note that this is a tenured appointment. In the event of a conflict between this letter, any employment documents and institutional policies, institutional policies control.

This offer is contingent upon employment eligibility (Form 1-9), as well as receipt of your official transcripts and verification of your degree(s). A contract will not be processed until receipt of your transcript(s) and verification of your degree(s). This offer is also contingent upon the sufficiency of state appropriations and University resources.

Please let me express my sincere enthusiasm about your joining us. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offers a wonderfully supportive community, and it has always taken a high interest in its newcomers. I feel sure that your career can flourish here, and I hope earnestly that you will accept our invitation. If these terms are acceptable to you, please sign and date one copy of this letter and return it to me as soon as possible. Upon receipt of your executed reply, I will begin the process of preparing your formal contract.

In response to this letter, Professor Salaita spoke with Dean Ross. He indicated that he would like to finish teaching the spring semester as Virginia Tech, and requested that his new position at the University of Illinois not begin until August^, 2014. Dean Ross agreed. Professor Salaita  also expressed concern about the contingency language in the contract and was assured that the Provost’s approval was typically a rubber stamp. Professor Salaita signed the offer letter Oct. 9 and resigned his position at Virginia Tech shortly thereafter, effective at the end of the spring 2014 semester. Professor Salaita tweeted a message about his excitement to join the University of Illinois faculty.

Throughout June and July of 2014, Salaita posted prolifically (most commonly on Twitter) about the situation in Gaza, particularly about the children killed in the conflict. His tweets were heavily critical of Israel’s actions in its ongoing conflict with Hamas, including some that contained vulgar language. On June 20, 2014, soon after three Israelis were kidnapped and killed, he wrote: “You may be too refined to say it, but I’m not: I wish all the (expletive) West Bank settlers would go missing.” On July 22, 2014 he wrote: “#Israel kills civilians faster than the speed of 4G.” These tweets were in line with his other, more scholarly writing, including his authorship of a 2011 book, “Israel’s Dead Soul,” for example.

On Aug. 1, 2014, University of Illinois Chancellor Phyllis Wise informed Salaita in an emailed letter that he would not have the job after all. Wise said his appointment was subject to approval by the university’s board of trustees, and the appointment would not be submitted to the board. “We believe that an affirmative Board vote approving your appointment is unlikely,” Wise wrote. “We therefore will not be in a position to appoint you to the faculty ... Thank you for your interest in and consideration of the University of Illinois.” In short, the University of Illinois has rescinded the job offer of a professor who wrote controversial social media posts about the war in Gaza.

Of potential relevance is a December 2013 statement by Chancellor Wise published on the school’s website where she wrote, “At Illinois, we value academic freedom as one of our core principles and cherish the critical importance of the ability of faculty to pursue learning, discovery and engagement without regard to political considerations. Our institution opposes any efforts to limit the ability of our faculty to work with scholars from other institutions around the world, and we encourage such connections, as collaboration is one of our core values in the pursuit of knowledge. Individual faculty are free to express their personal opinions . . ., however, they are not acting on behalf of the university.”

After learning of the university’s decision, Salaita’s supporters have said the university is violating his academic freedom, which allows faculty to teach or write about unpopular views without fear of losing their jobs. Others have said his writings crossed a line and that academic freedom didn’t apply because he had not yet started the job.

Question:

1. Does Professor Salaita have a winning claim premised on promissory estoppel? Why or why not?

• Assume that Illinois law governs and that Illinois follows the approach set forth in Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 90.
• To the extent you think that this question raises claims premised on the first amendment, please do not address them here. Please restrict your analysis to the contract law doctrine of promissory estoppel. If you think that his free speech rights affect that claim, you are welcome to mention them.

[1] The facts of this hypothetical are drawn from a real life example. Some facts and details have been altered because of, among other things, a lack of publically available documents. Please restrict yourself to the facts a set forth herein instead of engaging in your own fact-finding.