A former tenured professor in California has reached a huge $2.4 million settlement with his former employer after he was allegedly disciplined for criticizing the DEI policies at the community college where he previously worked. College Fix report.
2021, Matthew Garrett Lawsuit filed Garrett filed a complaint against the Kern Community College District after he was allegedly disciplined for expressing conservative views and questioning DEI policies at Bakersfield College, where he taught history.
In particular, Garrett publicly criticized Bakersfield College’s numerous faculty trainings related to implicit bias and microaggressions, including “racial quotas, preferential treatment, affirmative action type actions…” [and] These include “racial discrimination classes” and COVID-19-related mandates, as previously reported by The Blaze News.
“With a judgment in my favor imminent and the potential payment of millions of dollars in damages, KCCD had no other viable option than to settle.”
Garrett also began investigating whether Bakersfield College faculty members were illegally diverting grant money to social justice projects.
Garrett said he was accused of racism and hate speech by his colleagues and administrators at Bakersfield College because of his outspoken opinions and his participation in the Renegade Institute for Liberty, a group of Bakersfield College faculty that values ”free speech” and the “Western tradition.”
More than four years later, Garrett and the Kern Community College District have reached a settlement: The district will pay Garrett $2.4 million over 20 years, plus a lump sum of $154,520, minus taxes on lost wages, in exchange for him stepping down from his tenured position in April 2023.
As part of the settlement, neither party admitted to any wrongdoing.
“To be clear, the dispute with Matthew Garrett is a disciplinary matter resulting from his disruptive behavior on campus and has nothing to do with free speech,” the district said in a statement about the settlement. “Kern Community College District unequivocally supports the right of students, faculty and staff to share their opinions and views on and off campus. As a district, we foster an environment that provides our diverse student body and community with opportunities to professionally engage with new ideas.”
“KCCD believes this settlement is in the district’s best interest and allows us to focus on the future and continue to provide a quality higher education to Kern County students without further legal encumbrances.”
GaletteIn contrast, they hailed the settlement as a victory for free speech and academic freedom.
“Faced with an imminent judgment in my favor and the possibility of paying millions of dollars in damages, KCCD had no other viable option than settlement,” Garrett said. “I say to my colleagues at Bakersfield College and across the country: keep the faith. We are winning this battle, one case at a time.”
As The Blaze News previously reported, Garrett isn’t the only former or current Bakersfield professor to accuse campus officials of persecuting conservatives. Erin Miller, a current professor at the school, joined Garrett in a federal lawsuit alleging the district violated her First Amendment rights.
Garrett has since dropped the lawsuit, telling The College Fix that Miller “will continue to pursue his own litigation and has ample grounds for it. He also told the outlet that Miller “continues to face retaliation from university officials,” including having some classes canceled.
In June 2023, Damon Johnson, a history professor at Bakersfield College and member of the Renegade Institute for Liberty, filed a lawsuit against KCCD, alleging that Johnson routinely “refrains from expressing opinions on political issues for fear of being subject to further investigation or termination.”
Johnson’s lawsuit also seeks to “block the enforcement of unconstitutional and oppressive rules and practices that prevent Bakersfield College faculty from exercising their fundamental rights of free speech and academic freedom.”
That litigation appears to be ongoing.
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