A California history professor delivered a scathing rebuke of his former administration after a federal judge struck a blow to the statewide Diversity, Equity and Inclusion "DEI" mandates for faculty.
Tenured professor Matthew Garrett was dismissed last April from Bakersfield College in the Kern Community College District after he says far-left professors and students brought false accusations against him because of his opposition to DEI policies on campus. Administrators have argued he was disciplined for "unprofessional" conduct and "unsatisfactory performance," according to a 19-page report from interim college president Zav Dadabhoy last March. He is fighting the decision through the legal system and remains suspended without pay.
At the KCCD Board of Trustees meeting this week, Garrett demanded the district reinstate him, citing the recent court case and growing distrust between faculty and the administration at the college.
"By now it is painfully obvious that you made a mistake," he told the Board of Trustees. "You cannot hope to prevail in court. There is no value in dragging this out."
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"I can't stop you from making this process painful for me and my family," Garrett pleaded. "You've driven me onto welfare. You've robbed my children of Christmas. You've taken food out of their mouths, and it's true you can make me suffer more. But I am unbreakable. In the end, you will lose. The longer this drags out, the greater the cost to taxpayers. At this point, you are on the hook for at least a few million dollars for retaliation, defamation and legal fees."
"You’ve become the Grinch who stole Christmas for my children. But in the end it is the Kern County taxpayers who will be robbed. Is that really what you want to do?" he asked.
Garrett's plea comes as these DEI rules for colleges around the country are being challenged in the courts.
Earlier this year, California community colleges adopted new guidelines requiring professors to teach DEI and "antiracist" viewpoints in the classroom.
Bakersfield College Professor Daymon Johnson filed a lawsuit against the college in June saying that he had experienced retaliation and harassment due to his opposition to these rules. He feared expressing his views would lead him to a similar end as Garrett.
Both professors received some measure of vindication from a federal magistrate judge's ruling last month in their fight against these DEI mandates for faculty.
Judge Christopher Baker found that Bakersfield College had likely violated Johnson's First and Fourteenth Amendment rights with its DEI mandates for faculty, and he recommended the college suspend enforcement of these rules. In his report, the federal judge also ruled that Garrett was disciplined "for what appears to be some expressions of ‘pure political speech.'"
George Washington University law professor and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley called the judge's recommendation a "rare win" against the "powers of DEI," in his op-ed for The Hill.
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A district spokesman for KCCD declined to comment on Garrett's legal case against the school but provided the following statement to Fox News Digital regarding the judge's preliminary injunction against its DEI policies.
"Regarding the litigation concerning the State Diversity, Equity, Inclusiveness and Accessibility regulations, KCCD has filed objections to the Magistrate Judge’s recommendations, as has the State Chancellor’s office. The State-mandated DEIA regulations do not force faculty to adopt ideological concepts, and KCCD has not and will not enforce the regulations in that manner. KCCD asks faculty to promote and encourage an inclusive environment in their classrooms and committees and will continue to do so. Our commitment to our students and community leads our goals, and we believe this lawsuit is without merit. As such, KCCD will continue to vigorously defend itself."
