4.3.24
The News: Today, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) announced a settlement between its client, Rev. Dr. Gregory Schulz, DMin, PhD, and Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW), where Dr. Schulz served as professor of philosophy until he was suspended in February 2022 for criticizing what he regarded as the politically “woke” direction of the university.
The terms of the settlement agreement are confidential, but they resolve Dr. Schulz’s employment dispute with CUW. Both WILL and Dr. Schulz are satisfied with the settlement agreement.
Dr. Schulz is now retired from CUW as a professor but will continue to serve the Church faithfully elsewhere. He recently published a new book, Anatomy of an Implosion, diagnosing the woke virus that now infects much of higher education, and completed a teaching stint in Nairobi, Kenya, with Lutherans in Africa.
The Quotes: Dr. Schulz commented, “It is my hope that Concordia’s senior administrators, regents, and church body supervisors will heed the moral and legal warnings of my WILL attorney published in the opening pages of my most recent book, Anatomy of an Implosion, and the warnings they have received from national groups such as FIRE and AFA. My prayer is that they would, even at this late hour, show the moral integrity and religious fortitude required of any institution worthy of the names Lutheran and university (1) by embracing academic freedom for CUW’s dwindling faculty at its Ann Arbor and Mequon campuses; (2) by honoring professors’ contracts; and (3) by unequivocally rejecting and condemning in their words and deeds all woke Marxist/DEI/racial and social justice programs and aspirations in our schools and universities.”
WILL Deputy Counsel, Dan Lennington, remarked, “Throughout America, from Harvard to the University of Wisconsin, higher-education officials are now abandoning DEI and other race-based discrimination. It is due in no small part to people like Dr. Schulz who are brave enough to stand up to this corrupt system. I am heartened by this settlement and the change in direction by CUW. We are proud of our work defending Dr. Schulz’s rights and wish him the absolute best in his future work.”
The Background: The dispute between Dr. Schulz and Concordia started over two years ago, when CUW suspended Dr. Schulz after he published an essay entitled Woke Dysphoria at Concordia. CUW’s suspension of Dr. Schulz violated his contract, which guaranteed academic freedom and due process rights. CUW administrators violated the university’s policies by suspending Dr. Schulz without a vote of the Board of Regents, expelling him from campus, and demanding that he “recant” his beliefs. These actions, in part, prompted an investigation and campus oversight visit by officials from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), which owns and operates CUW. Those chiefly responsible for CUW’s actions have left the university and been replaced by new administrators, and CUW’s board contains new members following actions taken at the LCMS 2023 National Convention.
WILL’s Equality Under the Law Project. WILL’s representation of Dr. Schulz occurred through its Equality Under the Law Project, a nationwide initiative that advocates for a colorblind society. Since 2021, the EUL Project has represented more than 50 individuals from 18 states. WILL has obtained significant victories against federal officials, universities, and local governments, all in the service of the principle of equal treatment before the law.
More Information About the Case: https://will-law.org/will-represents-concordia-professor-suspended-for-criticizing-woke-direction-of-university/
Dr. Schulz, WILL Client