UNCW professor "looking forward" to having his day in court

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - Six years after a UNCW professor filed lawsuit against the school, the case is proceeding to trial.

According to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, or FIRE, last week, a federal district court ruled that Mike Adams' suit can move forward.

Adams, a criminal justice professor at the school, sued the university in 2007, after he said he was denied a promotion due to his conservative political and religious beliefs.

He has been teaching at the school since 1993.

In an email, Adams stated, "I am looking forward to my day in court."

Adams won several awards, including the UNCW Faculty Member of the Year award, so, when he was denied the promotion, he said his only recourse was to sue.

The suit names those who were on the board of trustees at the time and the college's former Chancellor Rosemary De Paolo.

The lawsuit claims the school violated his First Amendment rights by asking him to stop his work as a conservative columnist.

The case has been tied up for years, with UNCW requesting that it be dismissed.

"No university should refuse promotion to an accomplished professor simply because it disagrees with his religious and political views," said Alliance Defending Freedom Vice President Jordan Lorence. The group is representing Adams in his lawsuit.

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