Professor fired over Charlie Kirk post could receive $1.9M in settlement

Video above: A bipartisan group of senators condemns the killing of Charlie Kirk in Sept. 2025.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – University of Tennessee System officials have approved a tentative agreement that would pay a former UT-Knoxville professor who was fired over comments she made in the wake of political activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination nearly $2 million.

The Audit and Compliance Committee of the UT Board of Trustees on Monday voted to approve the settlement that would pay Dr. Tamar Shirinian $1.9 million to end litigation claiming that her First Amendment rights were violated when she was placed on leave last year over comments made on her personal Facebook account after Kirk’s murder.

Shirinian would not be reinstated to her former position as an anthropology professor as........

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