University to pay $500,000 to professor it fired over Charlie Kirk post
A tenured professor who was briefly fired by Austin Peay State University in Tennessee in September for what the school’s president said was an insensitive social media post about the killing of Charlie Kirk will get a $500,000 settlement and his job back.
The abrupt firing, which the university acknowledged soon afterward had violated the professor’s due-process rights, was made after the professor’s post drew a backlash from conservatives, including Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
The institution, which is a public school based in Clarksville, Tenn., about 45 miles northwest of Nashville, backtracked less than two weeks later, placing the professor on a paid suspension for the rest of the fall semester while it pursued his termination.
The professor, Darren Michael, 56, who teaches acting and directing, was reinstated Dec. 30 as part of the settlement with the university, which ended a more than three-month dispute over his employment.
“It was a very, very traumatic circumstance for him and his family,” David L. King, Michael’s lawyer, said in a phone interview Wednesday.
University officials confirmed Michael’s reinstatement, but declined to comment further on the settlement Wednesday. They did not dispute the financial terms.
The abrupt firing, which the university acknowledged soon afterward had violated the professor’s due-process rights, was made after the professor’s post drew a backlash from conservatives, including Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
The institution, which is a public school based in Clarksville, Tenn., about 45 miles northwest of Nashville, backtracked less than two weeks later, placing the professor on a paid suspension for the rest of the fall semester while it pursued his termination.
The professor, Darren Michael, 56, who teaches acting and directing, was reinstated Dec. 30 as part of the settlement with the university, which ended a more than three-month dispute over his employment.
“It was a very, very traumatic circumstance for him and his family,” David L. King, Michael’s lawyer, said in a phone interview Wednesday.
University officials confirmed Michael’s reinstatement, but declined to comment further on the settlement Wednesday. They did not dispute the financial terms.
