Overview
- The University of Tennessee Board committee voted to approve the $1.9 million settlement Monday to resolve Tamar Shirinian’s lawsuit alleging the university violated her First Amendment rights.
- Shirinian was placed on leave after a private Facebook comment in September called Charlie Kirk a “disgusting psychopath” and saying “the world is better off without him in it,” and she was fired by UT on Feb. 11.
- The approved settlement does not reinstate Shirinian and still needs final sign-off from the full UT Board of Trustees and state officials, including the governor and attorney general, before the payment is issued.
- Shirinian’s lawyer described the agreement as a resolution that avoids prolonged litigation, while UT trustees said continuing the case would drain time and money from the university.
- The case is one of several recent campus disputes over speech about Kirk and raises questions about donor pressure, institutional discipline, and the financial risk public universities face when handling faculty political speech.