Just some quick thoughts from a lowly non-lawyer.

First, I think it’s important to note that the First Amendment is a restriction on government. I have a right to say pretty much what I want (even, sometimes, things that are inaccurate), and the government pretty much can’t do anything to me for it. If my words bother my employer, friends, or family, though, they’re free to react however they choose. That’s why it was ridiculous when the Dixie Chicks boycott led lefties to whine about “free speech.” Record buyers aren’t the government, and they can punish musicians for mouthing off if they want.

The interesting situation with education, of course, is that government serves as an employer or classroom instructor. The rules are necessarily different in that setting; the government can’t punish me for saying “I hate Bush,” but a teacher can punish a student for saying “I hate Bush” in the middle of a lecture.

I’m not all that invested in a difference or non-difference between First Amendment rights and academic-freedom rights, but to the extent there is one, I’d argue it’s this: The First Amendment stops the government from punishing you for speech; academic freedom stops universities (public and private) from firing or expelling you for your academic work.