‘ To my coworkers at Bakersfield College and global, I say: Keep the faith, we are winning the battle, one event at a time.’
A Bakersfield College teacher who questioned the effectiveness of grant money to support social justice initiatives at his class was investigated and disciplined after agreeing to pay his legal fees.
Matthew Garrett, formerly a tenured history professor at the California community college, will receive$ 2, 245, 480 divided into monthly payments for the next 20 years as well as an immediate one-time payment of$ 154, 520 as” compensation for back wages and medical benefits since ]his ] dismissal”, according to the July 10 settlement agreement.
Garrett consented to leave his position with the Kern Community College District in accordance with the settlement’s term. Officials, in turn, have withdrawn and sealed any and all charges and information accusing him of “unprofessional conduct”.
The College Fix emailed Bakersfield College and Kern city officials asking for comment on Saturday, but they did not respond right away.
Garrett stated that he could not explain the negotiation when The College Fix reached him for comment via email. He claimed to be able to talk on issues preceding it, though.
A significant court show cleared me of all claims and exposed that Kern Community College District had engaged in obvious retribution for my questions regarding political policies and inefficient expenditures, he said via internet.
” Facing an inevitable decision in my prefer and the prospect of paying millions of dollars in damage, KCCD had just one viable solution: settlement. I want to encourage everyone who remained by my side during this trying time to join us in triumph.
” To my coworkers at Bakersfield College and global, I say: Keep the faith, we are winning the battle, one event at a time”.
According to The College Fix, part of the discussion dates back at least to 2019, when Garrett vehemently defended free speech on campus, including some that were deemed disrespectful and prejudiced, and questioned grant funding that appeared to support a social justice agenda.
The concerns then grew into accusations that he had accused his fellow classmates of macroeconomic misbehavior or misuse, which resulted in an administrative ruling against him.
Garrett and his coworker Professor Erin Miller, who were also accused of similar crimes, filed a federal complaint against the school district in 2021, alleging that their employers had violated their legal and First Amendment rights and intellectual liberty.
Garrett responded to a question about Miller’s allegations against the district in which case Garrett claimed she is also employed by Bakersfield College but” continues to suffer retribution from the administration,” including having some of her classes canceled.
While the two were co-plaintiffs on the same national First Amendment complaint, he claimed, a separate status operational court battle was necessary as their shared national lawsuit sat on hold after the district unfairly targeted Garrett for termination.
He informed The Fix via email that he is now stepping down from the shared federal lawsuit to allow her to continue on her own.
Higher education watchdogs have covered Garrett’s case extensively, including Inside Higher Ed, which described it in 2023 as a “long list” of allegations against administrators that have since been removed from his record as a result of the settlement agreement.
Garrett’s story was also supported by The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which claimed in 2023 that he had caused frustrations for campus DEI supporters while still respecting his free speech rights.
Over the past few years, Garrett and several other faculty members affiliated with the Renegade Institute for Liberty, a think tank founded by Garrett and a member of the faculty diversity committee, have grown in affluence toward him by some faculty and administrators. Other committee members claim that the Renegade faculty have stifled the group’s ability to accomplish anything by stalling campus diversity initiatives. However, Bakersfield’s termination was based on Garrett’s comments made at a proposed racial climate task force during a diversity committee meeting last fall.
Garrett criticized a proposal by professor Paula Parks to establish a racial climate task force at the Bakersfield Equal Opportunity and Diversity Advisory Committee’s meeting in October 2022 because he thought it might overstep the authority of the diversity committee. He also questioned the validity of the proposed task force’s use of the student survey data and the lack of supporting data. The validity of the survey data was also raised by a number of other faculty members present at the meeting. But ultimately, the committee voted to approve the creation of the task force.
In an op-ed in Kern Sol News on November 15, Parks accused Garrett and other Renegade Institute-affiliated faculty of a “disturbing pattern of actions” that” created division and negativity in the name of free speech.”
Fast forward to today, and Garrett reports that Bakersfield College history professor Daymon Johnson, who has also filed a free speech lawsuit against the institution, is still in charge of the Renegade Institute for Liberty. Most recently, in April, the institute hosted a webinar featuring Mark Goldblatt on the rise of subjectivity in society.
As for Garrett’s future plans, he said he is weighing his options, and will likely launch a line of social studies materials for homeschooling parents.
” My first product will be a Native American history course ( which is my research and publication field ) designed to fulfil California’s new high school Ethnic Studies requirement with original text, images, videos and more”, he said.
” And of course, I intend to continue to support free speech and institutional transparency at Bakersfield College and the broader academy. I will continue to speak at board meetings, campaign for candidates, and intend to write a biographical user’s manual for defeating the campus radicals, though that will take me some time to write and edit”.
MORE: A trustee for the Kern district apologizes for calling DEI faculty” shelfs.”
IMAGE: Courtesy photo
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