Michigan State Hit With Professor’s First Amendment Lawsuit

A Michigan State University professor is suing its board of trustees, after he said two of its members disparaged him as a “racist” for criticizing their supporters’ conduct in a meeting.

Professor Jack Lipton said that trustees, Rema Vassar and Dennis Denno, violated his First Amendment rights by using their influence to incite a character assassination campaign against him, according to his lawsuit filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

Lipton, who is the founding chair of the Department of Translational Neuroscience at MSU, told reporters that Vassar, then chair of the board, proved ...