The unusual case of a professor being fired after discussing Communist activities fully and naming his associates in the Party provided an odd twist to the academic freedom caseload this year.
Herbert Fuchs, a member of the Law Faculty of American University in Washington, D. C., testified last June before the Un-American Activities Committee. Then on July 10 the Washington Star broke a story about his admissions of former Communist Party membership.
Hurst R. Anderson, president of the institution, praised his cooperation, and said that Fuchs "is known in our Washington College of Law as an intelligent, loyal, and devoted teacher. He made a serious mistake in the past, which he has recognized and declared. The American University therefore would support his right as a citizen to pursue his chosen duties."
On July 15, Fuchs named 44 former associates in an executive session of the committee. Then, suddenly, on July 16, he was told to apply for leave with pay, which he did. On October 29 he was told to extend his application throughout the full term of his appointment, or through this June. He was also told at this time that he would not be reappointed.
University Never Explicit
American University was never explicit about its reasons for firing him. After probing from the American Civil Liberties Union, Anderson in January suggested that Fuchs lacked sympathy with the objectives of the institution, which came under Methodist control a few years ago. Despite repeated questioning, however, he did not state criteria of religious acceptability, and the ACLU protested this lack of standard, charging a lack of academic due process in his suspension.
Several camps not accustomed to supporting fired professors also joined Fuchs' defenders. The National Review and Representative Francis E. Walter (D-Penn.), chairman of the Un-American Activities Committee, both attacked the firing, and Robert Morris, counsel to the Senate Internal Security subcommittee, said that it might result in increased reluctance to testify at investigations of Communism.