A conservative professor has won a $2.4 million settlement from a California university that retaliated against him for complaining about his leftism.
Matthew Garrett, a former history professor at Bakersfield College, sued the school in 2021 after it retaliated against him for complaining that his colleagues were wasting grant money on left-wing causes.
NEW: Professor Matthew Garrett fired by Bakersfield College for criticizing racial climate task force. Now, he's getting a $2.4 million settlement.
Matthew was vilified by his university and punished for his protected (and reasonable!) speech. The deal is a win for higher education. pic.twitter.com/rwzKyWMla5
— John Sailer (@JohnDSailer) July 27, 2024
In response, Interim School Board President Zav Dadabhoy wrote a 19-page report accusing Garrett of grossly unprofessional conduct.
“Alleges the report[d] Garrett defended campus vandalism by the Hundred Handers, described as a white supremacist group by the Anti-Defamation League; colleagues publicly accused of using grant funds to advance a partisan agenda; held an in-person event against COVID-19 protocols on September 8, 2021; filed 36 “baseless” allegations against colleagues that resulted in 23 third-party investigations; and sent a threatening email to trustee John Corkins claiming to have documents showing “past indiscretions,” among other allegations, according to Higher Education Insider.
“Through his constant barrage of hostile comments, which intimidate and humiliate his colleagues and district students, Garrett demonstrated an inability to adhere to professional standards in the workplace,” Dadabhoy wrote in the report
We are preparing for an exceptionally long and expensive administrative court hearing. Legal fees become especially difficult as KCCD unfairly withholds my pay with dishonest accusations of “immorality”. Please consider donating and/or sharing. thank you https://t.co/1fgBPIcKSb
— Matthew Garrett (@DrMattGarrett) May 23, 2023
In a statement to Campus reformGarrett denied the allegations.
“If you start really looking at them [the accusations] one by one, they're really kind of flimsy allegations, but it can be overwhelming for someone who doesn't know the context,” he said.
“The idea that they can stifle discussion simply by labeling things dishonest, unprofessional, or immoral to circumvent First Amendment protections and mischaracterize me as some kind of horrible person is truly disturbing,” he added.
He also criticized the idea that he had said or done anything immoral.
“If you read the charges against me, there is no whiff of immorality, unless the immorality is questioning social justice and new age DEI stuff, which I hope as academics we could have a thoughtful discussion about these things, that we could have differing opinions and we could debate and we could have discourse,” he said.
WINNER: Matthew Garrett was fired by Bakersfield College for speaking out against DEI.
Last year he predicted it would cost them several million dollars.
He has now received a $2.4 million settlement.
Good for him!
“I can't help that this process is painful for me… https://t.co/ePcUfIIxu6 pic.twitter.com/FaXhRIQFP3
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) July 27, 2024
Despite his rebuttals, Dadabhoy's ploy worked and the board voted to fire Garrett last year.
The settlement, reached recently, says he must resign from the university, but only once the university pays him $2.4 million, plus $154,520 in back wages and medical benefits.
“The district will also withdraw and seal all of its 2023 charges against Garrett, as well as any prior documents implicating misconduct,” according to Inside Higher Ed. “The settlement says the settlement is not 'an admission of any wrongdoing or liability by either the district or Garrett.'”
Garrett said in an email that the school agreed to pay that much money to avoid paying even higher costs if it lost the lawsuit in court.
“KCCD believes the settlement is in the district's best interest and allows us to focus on the future and continue to provide quality higher education for Kern County students without further legal distractions,” a KCCD spokesperson said. school at Campus Reform.
“To be clear, the dispute with Matthew Garrett was a disciplinary matter due to his disruptive actions on campus, none of which related to free speech,” they added.
Meanwhile, Garrett had some positive words of encouragement for his former colleagues who are fighting the same battle.
“To my colleagues at Bakersfield College and across the country, I say: Keep the faith; we are winning the battle, one case at a time,” he said.
— Matthew Garrett (@DrMattGarrett) July 27, 2024
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