Early life and education McAdams attended Kennedy High School in
Kennedy, Alabama. He gained an undergraduate degree from the
University of Alabama and a masters from
Teachers College, Columbia University. He earned his PhD from
Harvard University in 1981.
Career McAdams taught courses on American politics and public policy and the
John F. Kennedy assassination and has been published in the
American Journal of Political Science,
Journal of Politics,
Sociological Quarterly, and
Law and Contemporary Problems. "the best gateway to serious and reliable materials" and "the best collection of Kennedy assassination-related information." He was also the moderator of the
Usenet group alt.assassination.jfk. He is the author of the book
JFK Assassination Logic: How to Think about Claims of Conspiracy (2011).
Controversy On December 12, 2014, McAdams was placed on indefinite academic leave from Marquette University and suspended from all teaching and faculty duties, banned from campus but retaining pay and benefits. This indefinite suspension happened after McAdams publicly criticized a graduate student teacher by name in a post on his personal blog. He said the instructor had refused to allow a student in an ethics class to express their views against
gay marriage in class because the instructor believed these views are homophobic and offensive. A letter from Marquette University indicated the firing was the result of his three times violating student privacy and deliberately publishing student names and information to target them for harassment and because he had done so in the third instance despite previously acknowledging that posting student names was a matter of concern. On March 24, 2016, Marquette released an announcement detailing the decision of University President
Michael Lovell, formally implementing the unanimous recommendation contained in a 123-page report composed by the Faculty Hearing Committee after a 4-day investigation. McAdams' suspension was extended until January 2017 without pay but with benefits and any return was conditioned on his writing a full letter of apology by April 4, 2016. McAdams told local news media that the requirement to write an apology was "a deal killer. No, I'm not going to do that." The announcement triggered a barrage of hateful and threatening messages and emails directed at the graduate student and at Marquette University officials. The graduate student later transferred to another university, saying she feared for her safety. to President Lovell, formally rejecting his demands and calling them "compelled speech." McAdams filed a lawsuit against Marquette, alleging the suspension and pending dismissal amounted to a breach of contract. In response the university released the 123-page Faculty Hearing Committee report, which alleged a pattern of bullying and reckless behavior by McAdams, including at least three previous attempts to intimidate fellow faculty members by threatening to publish their names to his blog. In July 2018, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered the university to reinstate him. Following a sabbatical, McAdams returned to the university in 2019.
Death McAdams died on April 15, 2021. ==Politics==