Felkner v. R.I. Coll.

• Decision Date: 18 March 2019
• Docket Number: No. 2016-17-Appeal. (PC 07-6702),2016-17-Appeal. (PC 07-6702)
• Citation: 203 A.3d 433
• Parties: William FELKNER v. RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE et al.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

203 A.3d 433

William FELKNER

v.RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE et al.

No. 2016-17-Appeal. (PC 07-6702)

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

March 18, 2019

Chief Justice Suttell, for the Court.

The principles of academic freedom often find uneasy passage in the halls of academia.¹ In this appeal, the plaintiff, William Felkner, describes himself as a "conservative libertarian." He chose, nevertheless, to matriculate in the Master of Social Work program at Rhode Island College's School of Social Work, which, he claims, has a distinct sociopolitical ideology. A clash of values was inevitable. In 2007, Felkner filed an action against Rhode Island College and various college officials (collectively defendants),² alleging they had violated his constitutional rights to freedom of expression and equal protection. In 2013, Felkner amended his complaint to include claims for conspiracy to violate his civil rights and a violation of his procedural due process rights. The matter now before us concerns his appeal from a grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendants on all counts and from the dismissal of his claim for punitive damages. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we vacate the judgment in part and affirm in part.³

IFacts and Procedural History

Our summary of pertinent facts is garnered from Felkner's verified complaint and first amended complaint,⁴ as well as from the parties' submissions on defendants' renewed motion for summary judgment. For purposes of our summary judgment review, we present the admissible evidence in the manner most propitious to plaintiff, as the nonmoving party. Lehigh Cement Co. v. Quinn , 173 A.3d 1272, 1275 (R.I. 2017).

In 2004, shortly after Felkner began his studies at Rhode Island College (RIC), he learned that the School of Social Work (SSW) would be sponsoring a showing of the movie Fahrenheit 9/11.⁵ Felkner emailed defendant Professor James Ryczek, his instructor for a foundational course called "Policy and Organizing I," objecting to the showing of the film. Felkner asked if the SSW would consider showing the movie FahrenHYPE 9/11 , a conservative rebuttal to Fahrenheit 9/11. According to Felkner, Professor Ryczek responded that the SSW has a mission dedicated to social and economic justice and suggested that "anyone who consistently holds antithetical views to those that are espoused by the profession might ask themselves whether social work is the profession for them." Felkner also wrote an email to Professor Daniel Weisman, who had sponsored the presentation of Fahrenheit 9/11. In response to Felkner's email, Professor Weisman expressed that the SSW was "not committed to balanced presentations" and that, "[f]or the most part, Republican ideology is oppositional to the [social work] profession's fundamental values." Ultimately, however, Professor Weisman presented FahrenHYPE 9/11 to the same classes that saw Fahrenheit 9/11.

As part of "Policy and Organizing I," students were assigned a group project in which they were to debate a social welfare issue and write a policy paper promoting the group's position. According to Felkner, the students could choose from a list of issues provided by Professor Ryczek, all of which involved, in Felkner's words, "a leftist position on social welfare issues." Professor Ryczek also informed the class that each student would participate in a class debate and then lobby for their selected issue before the Rhode Island General Assembly in the next semester's "Policy and Organizing II" class. Felkner joined a class group advocating for passage of Senate Bill 525 (SB 525), which he described as an amendment to "a temporary cash assistance program for Rhode Islanders having a difficult time making ends meet."

Thereafter, however, Felkner asked Professor Ryczek for permission to argue against SB 525 in the class debate after he concluded that "SB 525 did not actually help people get off welfare with higher-paying jobs * * *." According to Felkner, Professor Ryczek denied this request, explaining that RIC "is a perspective school and we teach that perspective" and "if you are going to lobby on [SB 525], you're going to lobby in our perspective." Nevertheless, Felkner wrote his policy paper from a perspective opposing the passage of SB 525 and contrary to—in Felkner's words—Professor Ryzcek's "professed support of a comprehensive welfare state." At his deposition, Professor Ryczek testified that he typically gives a group grade for the group work. However, after members of Felkner's group told Professor Ryzcek that Felkner "was not participating in the group as expected[,]" Professor Ryczek agreed to "disaggregate" Felkner's grade from the group grade. Professor Ryczek further stated that he had never disaggregated a student's grade before, nor had he ever given a grade lower than an "A minus" or "B plus" for the group class debate. Felkner received a failing grade on both his written assignment and classroom debate because he had not followed the directives of the assignment. Professor Ryczek then offered Felkner an opportunity to rewrite his paper. Ultimately, Professor Ryczek gave Felkner a C plus as his final course grade. Felkner appealed the failing grades for the paper and debate to the Academic Standing Committee (ASC) for the SSW.

On January 20, 2005, the ASC held a hearing on Felkner's appeal. According to Felkner, he was denied the opportunity to question Professor Ryczek at the hearing because Professor Ryczek left the room immediately following his testimony. Because Felkner believed that Professor Ryczek had given inaccurate testimony at the ASC hearing regarding conversations between them, Felkner announced that he would henceforth record all of his conversations with RIC professors. The next day, the ASC denied Felkner's appeal of his grades.

Felkner further appealed the matter to the chair of the Master of Social Work (MSW) program, Dr. Lenore Olsen, and then to the dean of the SSW, defendant Carol Bennett-Speight. In both appeals, the decision of the ASC was upheld. Felkner also contacted the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) about his alleged mistreatment. In a letter to RIC's then-President, defendant John Nazarian, dated January 28, 2005, FIRE noted that, in "[t]he case of Bill Felkner[,]" RIC should "reconsider and withdraw its unconstitutional policies." On February 15, 2005, Nazarian replied that no RIC student had been punished for failing to espouse a certain political belief.

At the close of the Fall semester, Professor Ryczek wrote to Dr. Olsen, informing her that he would not teach the "Policy and Organizing II" class the next semester because, as an adjunct faculty member, dealing with Felkner required too much of his time. Consequently, Felkner was transferred to a section of the course taught by full-time Professor Roberta Pearlmutter. The plaintiff's relations with Professor Pearlmutter, however, were no more salubrious than they had been with Professor Ryczek.

One assignment in "Policy and Organizing II" required students to complete a group project approved by Professor Pearlmutter. Felkner proposed to Professor Pearlmutter that he be allowed to form a group with students from other colleges to lobby RIC for an Academic Bill of Rights. Professor Pearlmutter rejected Felkner's proposal, noting that it did not have a direct impact on the "poor and oppressed" and did not advance "social justice." Professor Pearlmutter also rejected Felkner's request to lobby in favor of the then-governor's welfare-reform proposal for the project.

Next, Felkner suggested that he be allowed to work on a project lobbying for the defeat of SB 525 in the General Assembly. Professor Pearlmutter told Felkner that she would penalize his grade on the project if he did not work on it with classmates from his "Policy and Organizing II" class. Felkner had difficulty recruiting group members because his fellow students had already formed groups to promote policies that were contrary to his "conscience." Because of the "hostility towards his beliefs[,]" Felkner worked on his project with a group comprising himself and two individuals from outside of RIC.⁶ Some of his conversations with Professor Pearlmutter took place through the exchange of emails. One conversation about Felkner's proposed projects was in person; Felkner audio-recorded the conversation without Professor Pearlmutter's knowledge and later posted a rough transcript of the conversation to a website he had created to expose what he characterized as the "liberal bias" at RIC.

During one of Professor Pearlmutter's classes, the students were permitted to discuss their concerns about Felkner's postings on his website related to the "Policy and Organizing II" class. According to Professor Pearlmutter, she was approached by several students who were concerned that the confidentiality of class discussions was being compromised by Felkner when he posted about those discussions on his website. She maintained that students in the class asked that Felkner discuss any issues he had with the class during classroom discussions rather than on his website. Felkner, however, asserted that his conservative views were "assail[ed]" and that Professor Pearlmutter allowed other students to "assault" his views without allowing him the opportunity to respond. According to Felkner, "[t]he unmistakable message Defendant Pearlmutter communicated through the discussion was that only liberal/progressive ideas can help the poor and advance the cause of social justice."

Professor Pearlmutter eventually filed a complaint with the ASC, asserting that Felkner had committed unethical and unprofessional conduct in violation of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics. On April 27, 2005, the ASC held a hearing on Professor Pearlmutter's complaint. Thereafter, the ASC issued a written decision, through its chair Dr. Diane Martell, in which it found that Felkner's deceptive conduct in recording his...