A tenured Concordia University professor was suspended without notice or, he claims, due process on Saturday for writing an article in the Christian News that was deeply critical of the school's "woke dysphoria."
Dr. Gregory Schulz, a professor of philosophy, confessional Lutheran pastor, and retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force, was told Friday that he was to attend a disciplinary hearing that was scheduled in the middle of one of his classes. He responded that he was unable to attend and requested that the hearing be rescheduled.
The following day, Schultz's department chair informed him that he was suspended and barred from campus. When Schulz attempted to check his university email to learn the reason for his suspension and how long it is to last, he discovered that he had been locked out of his account.
Schulz has retained attorneys from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, who on Tuesday wrote a letter to Concordia's Interim President William Cario requesting more information about the suspension.
"Dr. Schulz has received none of the due process promised by his contract," the attorneys wrote. "Nor is he aware of any contractually permissible basis for his suspension.
"We are requesting that you provide us with Concordia's reasoning and any other details explaining the basis for this suspension, including the length, terms, and opportunities for process."
Schulz told "The Dan O'Donnell Show" that he strongly suspects that the suspension is in retaliation for an article he published last Monday in Christian News entitled "Woke Dysphoria at Concordia."
'We are under the influence of the Woke-ness in our nation and our Western culture, of course, but Wokeness appears to be developing into a pathology at my 'institution of Lutheran higher education' as it says in our mission statement," he wrote. "Our institutional dysphoria at Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) has come to light – and has been exacerbated by the search for a new university president and the manner in which our Board of Regents and, in particular, its Executive Board and its Search Committee who have been pushing for a president who will be, in their corporate vocabulary, 'disruptive' and 'transformational.'"
Concordia has been searching for a new university president since the retirement of Dr. Patrick Ferry in June. In his article, Schulz was deeply critical of the school's board of regents for "publicly announcing their determination to have a president who exhibits a 'demonstrated belief in and commitment to equity and inclusion' and who promotes racialized 'diversity in all its myriad forms.'"
Concordia University did not comment on Schulz's allegation that the school has denied him due process, but released a statement denying that it was seeking a new president who is committed to social justice concerns.
"The Board has been clear that the ideal candidate will be a person of deep faith, humble and devoted to the teachings of Jesus Christ and God’s Word; winsome and fervent in their confession of the doctrine of the Lutheran Church," Concordia said in a statement. "The president will possess extraordinary intellectual curiosity and theological acumen."