University of Tennessee at Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman faced a packed house and pointed criticism at a Faculty Senate meeting Sept. 22 over her decision to suspend and pursue firing assistant professor Tamar Shirinian, who wrote “the world is better off” after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“While this institution does not deserve Tamar, her students do and your actions have deprived them of an exceptionally brilliant scholar, teacher and mentor who was also a fierce advocate for free speech,” philosophy professor Nora Berenstain told Plowman.
Plowman told the Faculty Senate that Shirinian damaged the public’s trust in the university and violated the faculty code of conduct. She listed three reasons for her “swift action” on Shirinian’s removal from the classroom, suspension and termination proceedings.
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“In my view, the faculty member, one, violated the university’s expectations for civil and professional engagement, and respectful conduct.”
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“The faculty member undermined the mission and the focus of the university through her misconduct.”
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“And number three, harmed the reputation of the university. Our reputation is something we have built over the years, and I’m the steward – as are all of you, I would say – of that reputation. Our brand, our reputation as a land-grant university is something that we take seriously, and I thought that action actually harmed the reputation of the university considerably.”
Shirinian has “received written notice of the charges, and an explanation of the evidence,” Plowman said, and added Shirinian could refute the charges.
If she is fired, Shirinian will have the option of calling for a hearing by a special committee composed of faculty.
Plowman said she was open to working with the Faculty Senate to establish new policies and language about social media use and its relation to the code of conduct and free speech.
Provost John Zomchick, UT’s chief academic officer, addressed the meeting, telling members of the Faculty Senate and staff that Plowman made a “judgment call.”
Chancellor Donde Plowman addresses her decision to suspend and begin the firing process of assistant professor Tamar Shirinian to the senate members and crowd gathered at the Faculty Senate meeting in the Student Union. Sept. 22, 2025.
Faculty members press Chancellor Plowman in open forum
After her statement, several faculty members took turns addressing Plowman, either reading prepared statements or asking questions about the disciplinary action taken against Shirinian. All spoke in opposition to Plowman’s decision.
Berenstain read a statement detailing how previous administrations handled similar situations, specifically law professor Glenn Reynolds’ tweet in 2016 that said “run them down” in reference to demonstrators, as well as antisemitic messages that were painted on the Rock in 2018.
More: Can UT fire professor over post? Free speech experts say it’s more complicated than disciplining a private sector employee.
Reynolds was not disciplined for his social media post, which many say was an explicit call for violence and he asserts was a statement in favor of self-defense. He remains a professor at the university.
“It’s certainly noteworthy that the university will not condemn actual white supremacist and antisemitic hate speech, but will publicly frame a queer, feminist professor for quote ‘celebrating or advocating violence or murder’ for a Facebook comment that does neither,” Berenstain said.
Plowman declined to comment on the decisions of previous chancellors, but said Shirinian’s comment isn’t protected by academic freedom.
Journalism professor Amber Roessner said she worries pressure from political leaders influence UT leaders’ decisions on what types of free speech are regulated. She urged Plowman and UT leaders to stand with other public universities to pledge to support free speech and academic freedom.
“We need civil discourse that helps bring down the temperature surrounding national politics, and the state of Tennessee, for the sake of our nation,” Roessner said.
“I couldn’t agree with your last statement more,” Plowman said, “and I think there was nothing in that post that was reflective of civil discourse.”
Associate professor Megan Haselschwerdt, who works in the department of counseling, human development and family science, said she’s been dealing with attacks online. It’s “terrifying to be a faculty member who wants to engage with the public, but also wants their job,” she said.
Michael Gilchrist, associate professor in ecology and evolutionary biology, said the university needs leaders who stand strong in a time of political uncertainty.
“My main message is we’re scared. My students are scared. I have taken the time to explain to my students that this is unprecedented, and they appreciated that,” he said. “We need leadership, not just from the Faculty Senate, we need cooperation to get through this very, very dark time.”
Who is Tamar Shirinian, assistant professor at University of Tennessee?
Shirinian burst into the national conversation after Kirk was murdered when conservative social media activist Robby Starbuck posted her UT profile page Sept. 14 alongside a screenshot of Shirinian’s comment.
“The world is better off without him in it,” she wrote, and referred to Kirk’s wife as a “sick f—.” Starbuck urged his nearly 845,000 followers on X to “act now” to contact UT System President Randy Boyd.
Starbuck’s post was viewed millions of times, liked by more than 21,000 users and reposted more than 12,000 times. It caught the attention of U.S. Sen Marsha Blackburn and U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, both of whom supported punishment for Shirinian.
Punishment came swiftly.
Boyd posted statements on his personal and UT System president’s accounts Sept. 15 announcing an investigation into Shirinian, and she was suspended the same day by campus leaders who also vowed to fire her.
“Ultimately, I did make this decision in consultation with quite a number of people. Ultimately, I’m responsible, and people can judge my actions and give me feedback on them,” Plowman said. “That’s part of an open university, and I appreciate people being here today.
“I do feel that free speech doesn’t mean you can just say anything in an organization.”
Keenan Thomas is the higher education reporter for Knox News. Email keenan.thomas@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter @specialk2real.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: University of Tennessee chancellor: Kirk post ‘violated expectations’
