Northwestern denied tenure to Medill Prof. Steven Thrasher and plans not to renew his position in August 2026, Medill Dean Charles Whitaker informed Thrasher on March 12.
In a Thursday news release, Thrasher accused Medill of targeting him for his participation in the April 2024 pro-Palestinian encampment, at which Thrasher formed a line between police and protesters.
“This has nothing to do with my scholarship or teaching,” Thrasher wrote in the news release. “It is a political hit job over my support for Palestine and for trying to protect our student protesters last year from physical attack, by nonviolently subjecting my own body to assault by the Northwestern Police.”
A University spokesperson said they cannot comment on personnel matters but that NU has “full confidence in the decision-making process of (its) Medill faculty and dean.”
Medill canceled Thrasher’s Fall Quarter classes and launched its initial investigation in September. Months earlier, in July, the Cook County State’s Attorney dropped misdemeanor charges against Thrasher for “obstructing a police officer” at the encampment.
In January, the University found no grounds to suspend Thrasher based on the initial investigation and subsequently launched a new investigation into his conduct at the encampment, according to Thrasher. Thrasher will return to the classroom in Spring Quarter.
Medill’s Promotion and Tenure Committee praised Thrasher’s work in his 2023 mid-tenure review. However, Whitaker recently deemed Thrasher’s teaching “inadequate,” according to Thrasher.
“This cannot stand,” Thrasher wrote in the Thursday news release. “I am on the Medill faculty for another year and will not stop speaking out.”
Thrasher added he plans to appeal the decision. According to NU’s Faculty Handbook, he has 60 days to do so.
As Thrasher prepares to appeal, he is circulating a Google Form collecting signatures urging Medill to reconsider its decision. Thrasher also shared a GoFundMe page, started on March 18 to help cover his legal expenses, where he raised roughly $7,700 at the time of publication.
In the Thursday statement, Thrasher cited the case of Mahmoud Khalil — a Columbia University pro-Palestinian protester detained by U.S. immigration officials March 8. Thrasher said he worried that his case represents a trend of universities suppressing free speech.
“In trying to punish me, Medill and Dean Whitaker are not just trying to silence me,” Thrasher wrote in the news release. “Their bullying may intimidate students, journalists, faculty, staff and activists across campus and throughout the country into silencing themselves.”
Email: isaiahsteinberg2027@u.northwestern.edu
X: @IsaiahStei27
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