University of North Carolina-Wilmington must pay over $710,000 for denying a Christian professor a promotion because of his beliefs.
Dr. Mike Adams, an associate criminology professor at the university since 1998, was denied a promotion to full-time professor in 2006 because of his faith. Adams hired the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) to defend his case; the university must now pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and $50,000 of back pay to Adams.
According to Christian News, Adams was an atheist when he was hired at the university, but became a Christian in 2000. At that time, he adopted conservative viewpoints which he expressed on political website TownHall.com.
A report on the lawsuit said, “Dr. Diane Levy, known as an outspoken feminist with leftist political leanings, raised concerns about Adams’ ‘political activity’ and reprimanded him for his weekly nationally syndicated column.”
Another report cites sociology department chair Dr. Kimberly J. Cook describing the idea candidate for the position “as a ‘lesbian with spiked hair and a dog collar.”
ADF lawyer said, “They concluded that the University of North Carolina-Wilmington retaliated against Dr. Adams by denying him a promotion in 2006 and they retaliated against him because they did not like the views he expressed in his books and columns and speeches. Basically, they didn’t like what he said in his own time.”
“This is a great day, not only for Dr. Adams, but for all who value academic freedom. It sends a message to all public universities that they should not engage in this type of unconstitutional injustice and think there will be no consequences,” Kevin Theriot ADF senior counsel.
Publication date: June 12, 2014
