The president of Emporia State University and Kansas Board of Regents members asked a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit against them, claiming there is no proof ESU professors were fired for political beliefs, unionizing efforts or advocacy work.
ESU school administrators, KBOR and other defendants named in the case allege the abrupt firing of 30 tenured or tenure-track ESU professors last year was because of financial challenges and a need to rework academic programs, and not a coordinated attack on “problematic” instructors.
The lawsuit comes after the September 2022 firing of ESU faculty members and the elimination of programs and majors without explanation. The university’s actions were endorsed by KBOR under a pandemic-era emergency policy.
While defendants claim the firings were because of financial hardship and restructuring needs, ESU secretly awarded $137,741 in performance bonuses to more than 60 faculty members for undisclosed reasons six weeks after the mass firing. The university subsequently provided “shifting and incoherent” explanations for its restructuring, according to a report by the American Association of University Professors.
In July of this year, 11 former ESU professors filed a federal lawsuit alleging constitutional rights violations in the areas of due process, equal protection, liberty, property and free speech.
The professors named in the case argue they were fired for advocacy reasons, such as criticizing ESU president Ken Hush, or not being members of the Republican Party. Several of the plaintiffs had also begun efforts toward unionizing in the months before the firing.
The lawsuit attempts to sue the defendants as individuals, rather than public officials, but the defendants argue they are entitled to qualified immunity, a legal protection for government officials that shields them from damages in cases where their conduct doesn’t violate statutory or constitutional rights.
In late November court filings, the defendants argued the lawsuit doesn’t prove violations, as there is no definitive connection between some of the defendants and the firings.
ESU president, Regents ask court to dismiss lawsuit
ESU school administrators, KBOR and other defendants named in the case allege the abrupt firing of 30 tenured or tenure-track ESU professors last year was because of financial challenges and a need to rework academic programs, and not a coordinated attack on “problematic” instructors.
