Legal Battle: Furman University Fires Tenured Professor; Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Filed

GREENVILLE, S.C. – A Furman University professor, who attended a 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, has been fired. It’s a part of an ongoing legal battle between the university and the now-former professor.

Furman University confirmed long-time computer science professor, Christopher Healy, was fired following a months-long investigation into his attendance at the Unite the Right rally in Virginia seven years ago. Healy is now suing the university for wrongful termination and a list of other claims.

Investigation and Alleged Termination

An investigation conducted by Furman University leaders began in 2022 when photos of Healy surfaced online. According to court filings, the photos from August 2017 showed the tenured professor among a crowd of people at a political demonstration opposing the removal of the General Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville.

The photos, in which Healy is surrounded by white supremacist hate groups that oppose integration and equality, quickly gained traction on the internet. The university later placed Healy on paid suspension. According to a lawsuit, Healy was notified in June 2023 that the university intended to terminate his employment.

Reasons for Termination

The lawsuit said the University proposed to dismiss Healy for two reasons: (1) “Professor Healy has been in direct communication with groups that espouse white nationalist beliefs and philosophies and that he himself shares in those beliefs and philosophies; and (2) that these beliefs and philosophies have impaired Professor Healy’s abilities to objectively and judiciously evaluate students in an unbiased manner.”

The filing said university leaders met in November, and by January, a committee said the university did not have “adequate cause” to fire the professor. The lawsuit said the decision was reached after committee members read over 3,000 pages of evidence and met as a group for more than 30 hours in the process of evaluation. Ultimately, the university rejected the committee’s decision. Court records show Healy was terminated a few months later on April 4.

Allegations and Lawsuit

The university’s reason, according to the lawsuit, alleged “Dr. Healy chose to attend an event that represented hateful views (unrelated to political opinions) and that condoned violence.” The document went on to say he was “in communication with, and received content from groups that espouse similar hateful views (unrelated to political opinions)… and that these beliefs and philosophies affected Dr. Healy’s grading of students.”

The lawsuit said an investigation unveiled that Mr. Healy’s “female and non-white students in his courses received lower grades compared to their white, male counterparts.” Healy responded with a wrongful termination lawsuit against Furman University, claiming no evidence was presented to prove he was in communication with or received content from the hate groups.

Legal Response

The lawsuit also called the investigation into Healy’s grading to be “faulty” and claimed it did not support evidence of discrimination against specific students. 7NEWS reached out to Furman University about the lawsuit but received no additional details for commenting. 7NEWS has not yet received a response from those representing Healy in this case.

SLED Investigation

In the lawsuit, it’s stated that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) was asked by Furman Police to look into Healy’s attendance at the rally back in 2017. State agents said the actions depicted in the social media posts are described as “First Amendment protected activities” and therefore found no evidence of Healy committing any acts of violence. The lawsuit remains active and ongoing.