“In the past few weeks, many of you have asked about the status of a UNCW faculty member, Dr. Mike Adams, in light of the public attention generated by the comments he made on his personal social media channels. We can now share the update that after a discussion with Chancellor Sartarelli, Dr. Adams decided to withdraw from UNCW, effective August 1, 2020. We will have no further comment on this matter at this time, but we plan to share one more update. later this week on how I hope to move forward as a university community, “Sartarelli said.
CNN left a message for Adams seeking comment.
Adams’ impending retirement marks the end of a tumultuous week for the UNCW community.
Roy Cooper is the Democratic Governor of North Carolina.
Adams’ tweet was sent a week after the state entered the second phase of reopening and a few days after protests erupted over the May 25 murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.
Adams is the author of the book “Feminists Say the Cursed Things: A Politically Incorrect Professor Confronts ‘Womyn’ on Campus.”
In a statement to CNN on June 6, UNCW called Adams’ messages “vile and inexcusable.”
“We are hearing the outrage being expressed regarding the vile and inexcusable comments made by a member of the UNCW faculty,” the university said in the statement. “However, we are not just listening; we can confirm that we are reviewing our options very carefully and assertively in terms of how to proceed. We cannot comment further at this time, as this is a personal matter.”
Adams’ comments on social media also sparked Wilmington resident and actor Orlando Jones, who called his actions “a PROBLEM” in a tweet.
In 2016, another Change.org petition called for the removal of Adams after Adams published an article titled “A ‘Muslim Queer’ Jihad?” on the right-wing news site The Daily Wire. In the article, Adams wrote about a Muslim refugee and LGBT student activist at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
In 2006, Adams was denied a promotion to the university because of his conservative views, according to the Wilmington Star News.
Adams sued the university and won in 2014 after a jury determined that Adams’ speech was a factor in the decision not to promote him, according to court documents. The federal court also ordered the university to pay Adams approximately $ 50,000 in late payments and more than $ 600,000 in attorney fees and other costs, Star News reported.
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