Professor fired after questioning social justice funding gets $2.4M settlement from college

Matthew Garrett's days as a tenured history professor at Bakersfield College in California are over, and he's leaving with a $2.4 million settlement from the Kern Community College District.

The district fired Garrett more than a year ago on charges of "dishonesty" for disagreeing with colleagues on diversity issues, including a proposed "racial climate task force" to supersede the gridlocked diversity committee on which he served. It also accused him of "unprofessional conduct."

He and fellow history professor Erin Miller sued the district more than three years ago for alleged retaliation in response to their criticism of the college's spending on social justice initiatives, which KCCD interpreted as false accusations that its progressive colleagues had misappropriated grant funds.

The beef between the Renegade Institute for Liberty, which Garrett and Miller helped lead, and the Social Justice Institute at Bakersfield College predates the COVID-19 pandemic.

The district board of trustees sided with the latter, with Vice President John Corkins implying that Renegade faculty were livestock to be culled before apologizing.

A federal judge greenlit a related First Amendment lawsuit by their fellow Renegade Institute historian Daymon Johnson against KCCD's diversity, equity and inclusion rules last fall, spurring the trustees to hold an emergency meeting with their counsel.

Garrett and KCCD were awaiting the results of a 21-day proceeding before an administrative law judge this spring on Garrett's firing when they reached the settlement, dated July 10 but only made available last week through a California Records Act request shared with Just the News.

The settlement starts with a $154,520 payment to Garrett for back wages and medical benefits since his dismissal, then monthly payments of just under $10,300 for the next 20 years.

"The District will withdraw the Kern Community College District Administrative Determination it issued to Garrett in 2020 regarding complaints of unlawful activity against faculty employees at Bakersfield College, the 90-day Notice alleging unprofessional conduct issued in 2022, and the 2023 Statement of Charges against Garrett and revise District records to reflect that Garrett voluntarily resigned his employment from the District," the settlement reads.

"The District agrees to seal all documents related to the District Action, including the Statement of Charges and the 90-day Notice of Unprofessional Conduct issued November 21, 2022, in an envelope in Garrett’s personnel file with a notation that the envelope may only be accessed with the authorization of the Vice Chancellor of Human Resources, with Garrett’s consent, pursuant to a valid subpoena or other court order, or as otherwise required by law," it also says.

Garrett told The College Fix he is "dropping out of the shared federal lawsuit [with Miller] so she will continue on alone, and has ample grounds for litigation." He said Miller "continues to suffer retaliation by the administration," which allegedly canceled several of her classes.

"After five years of administrative misconduct, a decisive courtroom display exonerated me of all allegations and exposed that Kern Community College District engaged in flagrant retaliation for my questioning of partisan policies and wasteful expenditures," he told the publication.

"Facing an imminent ruling in my favor and the prospect of paying millions of dollars in damages, KCCD had only one viable option: settlement," Garrett said. "To my colleagues at Bakersfield College and nationwide, I say: Keep the faith; we are winning the battle, one case at a time."

KCCD did not immediately answer a query from Just the News on Garrett's comments, his characterization of its treatment of Miller and its views on the settlement and ongoing litigation.