Remembering Harry Keyishian, 1932–2026

A legendary figure in the history of academic freedom, Harry Keyishian, died on April 4, according to an announcement from Fairleigh Dickinson University, which was his academic home for 60 years. Harry came to FDU after he was fired in 1964 by the State University of New York for refusing to sign a loyalty oath.

The Supreme Court case that bears his name, Keyishian v. Board of Regents (1967), remains the most important legal ruling in defense of academic freedom, enshrining it (in the words of Justice Brennan) as “a special concern of the First Amendment.”

Harry and four other professors at the University at Buffalo were fired in 1964 for rejecting the state-imposed anti-Communist oath that read, “Anyone who is a member of the Communist Party or of any organization that advocates the violent overthrow of the government of the United States or of the State of New York or any political division thereof cannot be employed by the State University.” Harry was the only one with a one-year contract, so he was the first one fired, and that’s why the case bears his name

In 1987, Bill Moyers interviewed him as part of the constitutional bicentennial program For the People. Harry told him, “What’s remarkable about the Constitution is that it tends to, even if we’re thoughtless about it as a civilization, it tends to pull us back to certain standards … We may stray, but there’s a home to which we return.”

Harry’s contribution to protecting academic freedom was essential, but he also had an important academic career. He was the first professor to win FDU’s Distinguished Faculty Award for Research and wrote several books (including Screening Politics: The Politician in American Movies, 1931–2001 and The Shapes of Revenge: Victimization, Vengeance, and Vindictiveness in Shakespeare), while also serving as the longtime director of the Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.

I interviewed Harry in 2012 about his case, and he concluded by noting, “If things start going bad, I count on five other stubborn people to pop up and do something about it.”

That may be necessary. As First Amendment expert Marjorie Heins noted about the case, “Keyishian has had a rocky career in the courts.” It remains good law, but lower courts have repeatedly undermined it, and it could easily become the future victim of a conservative Supreme Court overturning past precedents protecting civil liberties.

We need a new commitment to remembering the history of the Keyishian ruling, understanding the core principles of academic freedom and defending the legal protections of academic freedom against any threats.

I met Harry in 2017 at the American Association of University Professors annual conference, when he was a special honoree to mark the 50th anniversary of the Keyishian ruling, and I spoke alongside him at a panel about the importance of his case, for which the AAUP played a crucial role in helping his legal defense. Harry declared, “Thanks for this organization, the AAUP, for formulating, protecting and defending professional standards and the precious tradition of academic freedom. Your work, our work, is more needed than ever.”

In the last email I got from Harry, just over a year ago, he ended it by writing, “Tough times ahead, but it’s the fight we can’t afford to lose.” Now we’ve lost Harry, but we can’t afford to lose the legal protections that will forever bear his name.