Michael was fired from Austin Peay State University in September.
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Darren Michael has been reinstated as a theater professor at Austin Peay State University nearly four months after he was fired for retweeting a news headline that quoted the late conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s stance on gun rights. clarksville now the report said.
In late December, Michael returned to the classroom. As part of the settlement, the university will also pay him $500,000 and reimburse him for therapeutic counseling services.
“APSU agrees to issue a statement regretting the failure to follow tenure termination procedures related to the dispute,” the settlement agreement reads in part. “The statement will be distributed to faculty, staff and students via email through APSU’s reasonable communication channels.”
Shortly after Kirk was shot and killed at a campus event in September, Michael shared a screenshot from 2023 newsweek The caption on his personal social media account read: “Charlie Kirk says ‘unfortunate’ gun deaths are worth preserving 2nd Amendment.” His retweet was shared by conservative social media accounts and his personally identifiable information was distributed. It also caught the attention of Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn, who shared Michael’s post along with his profile photo and resume, writing “What did you say, @austinpeay?” Michael was fired on September 12.
Michael did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. A spokesman for Austin Peay State University declined to comment.
