Fired College Professor Loses Retaliation, Discrimination Appeal

A former criminal justice professor at Spartanburg Methodist College in South Carolina won’t be able to pursue claims against the school over her termination and contract nonrenewal, the Fourth Circuit decided Tuesday.

SMC offered nonretaliatory reasons for not renewing Summer Lashley’s contract and firing her, according to the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III wrote, “she is unable to demonstrate that SMC’s reasons are pretextual.”

Lashley was fired from the school for behavior that ensued after she was informed her one-year contract to teach criminal justice wouldn’t be renewed, according to the opinion. ...