Ethics Prof Sues U Arizona Alleging He Was Fired Over Criticism of Gender Policies
“I received a lot of criticism and harassment [outside the university] in response to speaking publicly on controversial public issues”
Gender policy is one of those things people aren’t allowed to criticize in higher education.
FOX News reports:
Ethics professor sues university, says he was fired over criticism of gender policies
A Christian professor is suing the University of Arizona for allegedly firing him over his public comments on gender policies.
Daniel Grossenbach, who taught ethics as an adjunct instructor from 2020 to 2023, says the university was pressured to terminate his contract in November 2023 after receiving anonymous complaints about his parental rights advocacy in his children’s school district.
According to the lawsuit, Grossenbach, a father of two students at Catalina Foothills School District (CFSD), founded parental rights group SaveCFSD in 2023 to petition the district “concerning its policies and practices of hiding minors’ mental health information as a violation of fundamental parental rights.”
The group says CFSD distributed gender identity surveys to students and kept lists of students who requested to be called by preferred names and pronouns, without notifying parents.
The lawsuit says the university fired Grossenbach after receiving anonymous complaints accusing him of leading an “anti-gay hate group,” posting anti-LGBTQ content on social media and spreading “misinformation” about CFSD policies. Those complaints alleged his conduct violated the university’s nondiscrimination and professional conduct rules.
University officials told Grossenbach his position was being eliminated because of funding for new full-time roles. However, the lawsuit says that shortly after his termination, the school posted other openings for adjunct professors in the ethics department.
Grossenbach told Fox News Digital he filed a public records request after questioning the university’s explanation. He says the school withheld documents for 239 days, only releasing them after a legal demand and with heavy redactions. Those records, according to the lawsuit, showed administrators had discussed the anonymous complaints before putting his courses on hold.
“I received a lot of criticism and harassment [outside the university] in response to speaking publicly on controversial public issues,” Grossenbach said. “It was unsettling that appears to have led to the department’s decision —and disappointing that I wasn’t told about these complaints.”
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Comments
So they withheld information from parents about their kids’ gender fantasies, then withheld information from teachers about why they were really being fired. Chronic transparency insufficiency?
its hard to blame the left at this point in time
as we have been ceding power to them for over a century
The tide is turning, and even the cowardly administrators of Academia are starting to realize that pandering to the crazies will ultimately get them into more trouble than it is worth. This is going to be fun to watch!
I don’t know the University of Arizona’s adjunct instructor contract’s wording but bet it contains language saying that the contract is not a promise of permanent or future employment.
That language has been in every adjunct contract I’ve ever signed.
Adjuncts are academic day laborers. If the work”s not there, neither is the job.
That would likely not protect UA from violations of his rights to free speech and religion.