JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – A Philadelphia-based civil rights group has come to the defense of a Millsaps College professor they say was suspended for his comments following the 2024 presidential election.

According to a letter from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, James Bowley was placed on “temporary administrative leave… for using his ‘Millsaps email account to share personal opinions with his students.’”

The letter claims that Millsaps violated its policy regarding the professor’s free speech. It also claims that the college failed to “afford Bowley due process” by placing Bowley on leave only two days after his comments were made.

“Bowley’s expression of opinion regarding the election falls squarely within his right to speak as a private citizen on matters of public concern… Even if Bowley’s speech were to be considered within the scope of his job duties, many U.S. circuit courts have recognized protection for a great deal of faculty expression, including ‘speech related to matters of public concern, whether that speech is germane’ to the class or not,” the letter stated.

The correspondence was sent to Millsaps President Frank Neville on December 18. The organization asked for a response no later than January 3.

It is not known if the college has responded to FIRE’s request. Officials with FIRE were not immediately available Friday afternoon for comment.

A spokesman with Millsaps College said he could not comment on matters involving individuals or personnel.

According to Millsaps’ website, Bowley is a professor and chair of religious studies. He’s been at Millsaps for 22 years and has been tenured for 15.

Bowley said he was initially told that a review of his comments would take maybe a week or two, but that was two months ago.

“It’s been over two months, and I have been banned from campus, from even going into my office,” he said. “I have not been able to do my work as a scholar… I have no access to my campus email. So, I have all kinds of professional emails that I cannot answer, and I have lots of work that cannot do because of this.”

Bowley sent an email to students in his “Abortions and Religions” class on November 6, the day after the 2024 presidential election.

In it, the professor said he would be canceling that day’s class to “mourn and process this racist and fascist country,” the letter from FIRE states.

“It’s a small class of just three students… I knew them very, very well and I knew it was not a good day for them to have class,” he said. “It wasn’t me being lazy. It was me trying to be kind, empathetic, and understanding to a small class of students.”

One of the students posted the professor’s decision to cancel class on social media, and another student not in Bowley’s class reported it to the interim provost.

“They posted on Instagram, another student saw it, and reported it as if it was something bad,” he said. “The interim provost immediately took action against me.”

Bowley said he filed a complaint with the Faculty Grievance Committee, which “faulted the interim provost for not following good protocol and for punishing me without due process.”

Meanwhile, more than 100 students on campus signed a petition to have Bowley reinstated.

Bowley added that the faculty handbook does not prohibit professors from sharing political opinions with students, nor does it prohibit faculty members from sharing those thoughts via their college emails.

“I’ve been around a long time and I’ve made a lot of contributions. I love Millsaps and my students,” he said. “At the bottom line of it all is academic freedom. I sent a note to three students in the class, and the administration, the interim provost, objected to that note.”

According to FIRE’s most recent 990 tax form found in the ProPublica database, the organization’s mission is to “defend and sustain the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought.”

In 2023, the nonprofit received more than $32 million in grants and contributions.

Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it and include the headline of the story in your email.

Copyright 2025 WLBT. All rights reserved.