The University of Tennessee System Board of Trustees approved a $1.9 million settlement with former assistant professor Tamar Shirinian, moving to end a case that began with a Facebook comment and ended in a firing. She will not be reinstated at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
The vote came on June 29, with board chair John Compton recusing himself. After a nonpublic session, the board's audit and compliance committee approved the deal, which now goes to state officials for final approval. Those officials include the attorney general and Gov. Bill Lee, and the record does not yet show whether they have signed off.
Shirinian became the focus of the case after she wrote on a friend's private Facebook post, two days after Charlie Kirk was assassinated, that “the world is better off without him in it.” A social media provocateur spread the comment online, UT System President Randy Boyd opened an investigation on Sept. 15, and Chancellor Donde Plowman later suspended Shirinian and started the firing process.
Shirinian sued the university in federal court on Oct. 29, and Plowman finalized the firing decision on Feb. 11. By June 29, the university was ready to settle rather than keep fighting. Compton said continuing litigation would demand significant time, attention and financial resources better spent on the institution’s mission, vision and values.
Her lawyer said the settlement reflects the seriousness of the dispute while allowing everyone to move forward. A court filing made late June 29 said the parties will notify the court when all the details are finalized, and the court is requiring both sides to file the final document ending the case by Aug. 28. That deadline now frames the last step in a dispute that is financially resolved on paper but not yet fully closed.
