University to pay $400,000 to professor who refused to use student’s preferred pronouns

A professor at Shawnee State University in Ohio has reached a $400,000 settlement with the school after being punished for refusing to use a transgender student’s preferred pronouns.

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Meriwether was teaching a political philosophy class in 2018 when he called a student “sir” when the student raised a hand to ask a question, The Washington Post reported.

After the lecture, the student told Meriwether that she identified as a woman and preferred to be referred to with female pronouns.

He refused the student’s request, saying his Christian faith prevented him from talking about gender in a way he believed to be false.

As a compromise, Meriwether called the student by her last name.

The student complained to university officials who concluded Meriwether had created a “hostile environment” in the class and was issued a written warning, saying he could be fired or suspended without pay for violating school policy.

The settlement comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit reversed a district court’s dismissal of the ruling that the professor could sue the university over the reprimand for alleged violations of his constitutional rights.

Meriwether went forward with the suit and last week the university agreed to settle the suit by paying him $400,000 in damages and attorney fees and rescinding the written warning he had received, according to Fox News.

The Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented Meriwether in court, announced the settlement with the university.

“Public universities should welcome intellectual and ideological diversity, where all students and professors can engage in meaningful discussions without compromising their core beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer, director of the ADF Center for Academic Freedom.

“Dr. Meriwether rightly defended his freedom to speak and stay silent, and not conform to the university’s demand for uniformity of thought. We commend the university for ultimately agreeing to do the right thing, in keeping with its reason for existence as a marketplace of ideas.”

The university has not commented on its settlement with Meriwether.

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