Image Credit: University of Tennessee Knoxville & Canva
Tennessee Conservative News [By Paula Gomes] –
Tennessee taxpayers will end up footing part of a nearly 2 million dollar bill for a former University of Tennessee at Knoxville professor’s settlement after she sued the UT system for allegedly infringing on her First Amendment rights.
Once employed by UT as an Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Tamar Shirinian was terminated for her comments about Charlie Kirk following his assassination.
As a result of her lawsuit, Shirinian is now set to receive $1.9 million, pending approval from the Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Governor Bill Lee, among other state officials.
The payoff will come partially from money already allocated to UT by the Tennessee General Assembly through the university system’s general operating funds, of which a quarter comes from Tennessee taxpayers. Another quarter of UT’s operating funds come from local, state, and federal grants.
Categorized as unrestricted educational and general revenues, UT’s general operating funds come from student tuitions and fees, grants and contracts, and appropriations from state government and makes up most of the UT system’s operating budget at more than $2.54 billion.
Used to pay for UT’s core operations, which includes salaries for faculty and staff, research, and academic support, general operating funds are different from restricted funds which are used for specific projects, and self-supporting revenues that come in from housing, dining, and athletics.
The entirety of the UT system’s operating budget – almost $4 billion – may be reviewed HERE.
Of that budget, the settlement that Shirinian is expected to receive makes up 0.04 percent of the total.
At the UT System Board of Trustees annual meeting on Tuesday, held on the UT Southern Campus, the settlement and the budget were both approved.
According to a court filing at the end of last month, all parties are to notify the court once details of the settlement have been finalized and by August 28th, 2026, both parties must file the final document to end the court case.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
It is beyond infuriating that a leftist loon is enriched thanks to her being an outspoken leftist loon. There are only three questions that need to be answered, (1) How does a nut-job like that get a job, to say nothing of being tenured, at the flagship state university of Tennessee, (2) What incompetent(s) fired her when every human resource professional knows that a state is simply begging for at least a lawsuit, and perhaps a huge payout, by terminating an employee for political speech, and (3) Do those responsible for this firing still have their job?