University of Washington Pays Professor $600,000 After 9th Circuit Revived Land Acknowledgment Parody Case
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 4
University of Washington Pays Professor $600,000 After 9th Circuit Revived Land Acknowledgment Parody Case
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 4
Summary
$600,000 is what the University of Washington agreed to pay computer science teaching professor Stuart Reges to settle his First Amendment lawsuit over a parody land acknowledgment in his syllabus.
The deal follows a 2-1 Ninth Circuit ruling last December in Reges' favor after he sued in 2022, saying UW censored the statement, opened a competing class and investigated him for nearly a year under an antiharassment policy.
Under the settlement, UW cannot take further action against Reges over the parody statement; the university said the agreement was not an admission of wrongdoing and was the most reasonable option given likely legal costs.
Reges said the case should remind public universities to respect faculty speech rights, while FIRE framed it as a viewpoint-neutral academic freedom dispute that would apply equally to professors compelled to omit or include such statements.