Samuel Joeckel

Samuel T. Joeckel is an American author, professor of English, and accomplished mountain biker. He is one of the world's top experts of author C. S. Lewis. Joeckel is the author of two books, The C.S. Lewis Phenomenon and The Christian College Phenomenon. He has also published many articles on 18th Century British Literature. He is also the co-editor of a volume about Christian colleges. He taught at Palm Beach Atlantic University for over 20 years until his termination in March 2023.

Life
Joeckel earned a B.A. from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He completed an M.A. at Baylor University. He earned a Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University. His 2002 dissertation was titled, "The fiction of happiness": eighteenth-century experience, epistemology, and aesthetics. Marc Redfield was his doctoral advisor.

Joeckel was a professor of English at Palm Beach Atlantic University's School of Liberal Arts and Sciences for over 20 years. On February 15, 2023, his contract was put on hold after the university received complaints regarding his teachings on racial justice. Dr. Joeckel stated that he was notified of his contract investigation the same day Governor Ron DeSantis would be arriving on campus to give a speech. After stepping out of his classroom, Dr. Joeckel's dean and provost were waiting for him, and the dean handed him an envelope notifying him of the investigation. Joeckel stated, "The letter inside [the envelope] was to notify me that my contract was being delayed pending a review of the material I use in my racial justice unit" as part of his Composition II course. He taught about Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and Frederick Douglas in the racial justice unit. Soon, Dr. Joeckel posted on Instagram that his position was on hold pending an investigation on his course materials. Soon, PBAU school provost Chelly Templeton stated in a leaked internal university memo, " 'Faculty are free to choose a theme that unifies their Composition II course, . . . [h]owever, it is important that the Composition II objectives remain the focus of the course.' " When questioned as to what was wrong with Joeckels' unit on racial justice, Robert Lloyd, Palm Beach Atlantic University's Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences, told Joeckel he was "indoctrinating students". On March 15, the university terminated Joeckel's contract, stemming from a complaint received from a student's parent directly to the college president, Dr. Debra A Schwinn, about his unit on racial justice. The parent complained he was " 'indoctrinating' students by teaching about racial justice".

Diversity is stated as one of Palm Beach Atlantic university's core values, where they aim to promote racial equality for all. They state that, "no form of racism, racial supremacy, ableism, or ethnic bigotry will be tolerated at Palm Beach Atlantic University.

Joeckel stated the reason behind his contract non-renewal was because, "his university was “'influenced' by the 'toxic political ideology' of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R)."

Palm Beach Atlantic University offered Joeckel no hearing, no meeting, or no panel discussion. The complaining parent never spoke with him, nor was he given any reasonable explanation for his termination. They do not offer tenure protection to professors at Palm Beach Atlantic University, no matter how long they've served in their positions.