Prof Claims Georgia College and State U. Fired Him for Voicing Concerns About Student Plagiarism
“A university spokesperson declined to comment”
Plagiarism used to be a huge deal in the academic world. Now it has become shockingly common.
Julia Kushner at The College Fix reports:
Professor alleges Georgia college fired him for complaining about entitlement, plagiarism
A tenure-track law professor recently filed a lawsuit against Georgia College and State University after he voiced concerns about student plagiarism and then was fired.
Professor Adam Lamparello, who had been awarded his department’s “Excellence in Teaching” award, was terminated earlier this year for what he claims was protected speech under the First and 14th Amendments, according to his lawsuit.
Lamparello, a professor of public law, told The College Fix more about the situation in a recent email interview.
“In recent years, I’ve seen a clear and troubling trend in higher education: educators are increasingly being disciplined or dismissed for expressing opinions that challenge prevailing orthodoxies – whether political, social, or educational,” he said.
Especially troubling to the professor is that “many of these statements are fully protected by the First Amendment and contribute to the kind of intellectual diversity that once defined higher learning.”
A university spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit when contacted by The Fix. GCSU is a public liberal arts university, part of the University System of Georgia.
However, the university told 13WMAZ in a statement: “Georgia College & State University has received notice of the filing of a lawsuit by Adam Lamparello, a non-tenured faculty member hired in 2020 who resigned voluntarily in July 2025.
“GCSU and its administrators have operated in full compliance with all applicable federal and state laws, as well as with University System of Georgia policies, in handling Mr. Lamparello’s employment. While the university is committed to transparency, we cannot comment on pending litigation,” the university stated.
According to his lawsuit, which The Fix reviewed, Lamparello said the university ignored his complaints about plagiarism and student entitlement in one of his spring semester classes.
Frustrated, Lamparello posted a comment on a public listserv expressing his concerns about the students’ behavior and the university’s inaction, the lawsuit alleges.
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So to recap, the issue on the table isn’t about student plagiarism at all.
The issue is that he publicly accused his employer of being ethically derelict, instead of going over their heads but still within the chain of command..
Whether or not the charges are true, termination by the employer simply for “badmouthing the boss” was a foreseeable consequence.
Now the dance gets uncomfortably sacre du printemps, as even a successful lawsuit against the administration’s dereliction is unlikely to redound to any financial benefit to Lamparello at all.
I’m pretty sure it is still protected speech, right? It’s not in his official capacity, not privileged information (if names weren’t named), and his employer happens to be government. making this a bit stickier.
From the pleading, he didn’t badmouth his employer at all and never accused his employer of being unethical. He posted on a private legal writing listserv seeking advice on how to deal with students who were consistently plagiarizing. How is this badmouthing an employer or accusing them of being unethical? And how is this not protected speech? Your comment makes no sense. And it expresses no concern for the fact that, if these allegations are true, the college did nothing to hold unethical students accountable.
Well, since the allegations are against the president and provost, where exactly within the institution did you expect him to go? And from what the complaint states, he didn’t go over anyone’s head. He simply sought advice from a community of peers on how to deal with plagiarism.
The part of his protected speech that probably got him canned was that relating to the “entitlement” of his students. What “entitlement” was he referring to? Was he saying that students of certain races or ethnicities were receiving favored treatment or not being punished for lapses of ethical behavior (i.e., plagiarism)?
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