Targeted and Terminated, But Not Intimidated!

In a brazen act of retaliation, Africana Studies Professor Keith Jones has been slated for termination this May (2026). Over the last five years at UMass Boston, no other eligible faculty member has been denied continuing appointment.

Professor Jones’s unjust termination is a direct result of both his union activity, which has sought to hold the administration accountable to its urban mission, and his efforts to root our campus culture in anti-racist pedagogies and a restorative justice framework. His termination is not simply about a single UMB community member – it represents an enormous loss for the university, our students, the Africana Studies Department, and our neighboring communities.

In Jones’s termination notice, Provost Joseph Berger claims the decision was “not a reflection of the work [Professor Jones has] performed within [his] department and for the University” but was a result of needing to “responsibly steward CLA’s resources and funding.” In fact, terminating Professor Jones is a grave violation of responsible university stewardship.

According to all the usual metrics that the university uses to evaluate faculty, Professor Jones’s performance has been exemplary. For example, an AFR review states he “literally goes beyond the call of duty in all three areas in teaching, research, and service.” Student evaluations consistently show Professor Jones to be an inspiring, empathetic, transformative professor, utterly dedicated to his students.

This is not the first time the administration has targeted Professor Jones. Since being named a co-recipient for the Chancellor’s Distinguished Service Award for what the committee called his “landmark role in contributing to building a university that lives up to its mission,” Professor Jones has been demoted, had his pay reduced, and been blocked as a finalist for a nationally competitive tenure-track position.

Now, these attacks have culminated in the denial of his continuing appointment. As a result of such discriminatory and retaliatory acts, Jones has filed multiple Department of Labor Relations (DLR) grievances and two Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) complaints alongside other colleagues in the Africana Studies Department.

As union members, we value the contributions of our faculty, staff, and students and condemn retaliatory attacks directed toward those who speak out on behalf of the common good. In a time of growing repression and authoritarianism, the administration’s targeting of Professor Jones for his leadership and activism renders all of us unsafe.

Please sign this petition to demand that Provost Berger reinstate Professor Jones now! In one voice, we must say unequivocally that we, the FSU and the broader campus community, stand in solidarity with one another and will not permit members critical of the administration to be silenced and erased!