Mike Adams (columnist)

Michael Scott Adams (October 30, 1964 – July 23, 2020) was an American conservative political columnist, writer and professor of criminology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.[1][2]

For other people named Mike Adams, see Mike Adams (disambiguation).
Mike Adams
Born(1964-10-30)October 30, 1964
Columbus, Mississippi, U.S.
DiedJuly 23, 2020(2020-07-23) (aged 55)
Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S.
Cause of deathSuicide
EducationSan Jacinto College (AA)
Mississippi State University (BA, MS, PhD)
OccupationConservative columnist, professor of criminology

Early life and education

Adams was born on October 30, 1964, in Columbus, Mississippi, to Joe Dee Adams, Jr. and Julia Marilyn Rester Adams,[3] and raised in Clear Lake City, Texas. He graduated from Clear Lake High School in 1983, and earned an associate degree in psychology from San Jacinto College in Pasadena, Texas.[1] He then transferred to Mississippi State University, where he was a member of Sigma Chi, to finish his Bachelor of Arts in 1987.[1][4] He remained at Mississippi State to obtain a Master of Science in psychology in 1989, followed by his doctorate in sociology in 1993.[4]

Career

In 1993, the University of North Carolina Wilmington hired Adams to teach in the criminal justice program, where he continued to teach until July 2020. After being denied promotion to full professor in 2007, Adams sued UNCW for discrimination and after a seven-year court battle was granted promotion and back pay as part of a settlement.[5] Adams won the Faculty Member of the Year award in 1998 and again in 2000,[6][7] and his classes were considered "popular with many of his students."[8]

Harbor House published Adams' first book, Welcome to the Ivory Tower of Babel, in 2004.[9] Sentinel published his second book, Feminists Say the Darndest Things: A Politically Incorrect Professor Confronts "Womyn" on Campus, in 2007.[10] Later that year, Adams joined the faculty of Summit Ministries in Manitou Springs, Colorado, where he spent his summers lecturing against abortion and defending First Amendment rights on college campuses.[11] His third book, Letters to a Young Progressive: How to Avoid Wasting Your Life Protesting Things You Don't Understand was published by Regnery Publishing in 2013. In addition to these texts, Adams was a prolific creator of articles and commentary on conservative subjects.[1]

In 2016, he was widely criticized by his colleagues for commenting on a student by name in a publication. The UNCW Academic Senate President said, "We wouldn't have imagined that we would have to tell our colleagues that they shouldn't make public statements about students in the media, on social media or anyplace for that matter."[12]

In June 2020, public pressure to have him removed from teaching rose from a Facebook group named Justice for UNCW, which gained 8,000 followers.[13] Two Change.org petitions called for his removal.[14] Actor Orlando Jones joined the calls to fire Adams.[15] Hundreds of criminology professors and graduate students from across the U.S. delivered a petition which, in part, stated, "Professor Adams hides behind the veil of 'free speech,' but through his rhetoric on Twitter and his column he has harassed, threatened, and spread hateful speech against students and faculty."[16] Through an agreement with the university, Mike Adams was scheduled to retire on August 1, 2020,[17] and was to receive a settlement of $504,702.76 which was to be paid out over the course of 5 years to cover lost salary and retirement benefits.[18]

In July 2020, Adams wrote, "Massa Cooper, let my people go!" on Twitter and made another tweet which read "Don't shutdown the universities. Shut down the non-essential majors. Like Women's studies." The University of North Carolina Wilmington responded with "These comments may be protected, but that is not an excuse for how vile they are. We stand firmly against these and all other expressions of hatred."[19]

After his death, the UNCW chapter of the Young America's Foundation, for which Adams served as faculty adviser, issued a statement praising his legacy.[20]

Invasion of privacy issue

Adams first came to prominence after the September 11 attacks, when a UNCW student emailed him requesting commentary on American policy errors in the Middle East. After an exchange of emails, the student submitted a public records request for Adams' private emails.[21] UNCW maintained that Adams's emails were not a matter of public record.[22]

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education stepped in to uphold Adams' remarks, as protected by the First Amendment.[21] As a result of this dispute, Adams became a vocal critic of "the leftist bias in academia", which he considered to be against free speech. After the controversy, Adams was interviewed on national television by Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, Megyn Kelly, and Pat Robertson.[23][24][25][26]

Employment discrimination lawsuits

In 2007, Adams was denied a promotion by the UNCW administration and sued university officials, alleging religious and speech-based discrimination.[27] Adams specifically alleged that the university had discriminated against him on the basis of his Christian views and writings.[28]

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina initially granted summary judgment in favor of university officials.[27] Adams appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, where he was supported by the American Association of University Professors, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which filed an amicus brief in his support.[29] In 2011, the Fourth Circuit reversed "the district court's grant of summary judgment as to Adams' First Amendment claims of viewpoint discrimination and retaliation" and sent the case back to the district court.[27] The Fourth Circuit, however, upheld the district court's grant on summary judgment to the defendants on Adams' Title VII and Equal Protection Clause claims, finding that there was "simply no direct evidence that the Defendants treated Adams differently based on his religious beliefs."[27]

In 2014, on remand in the district court, Adams won at a jury trial, bringing a seven-year legal battle to a close.[28] UNCW filed an appeal with the Fourth Circuit, but that appeal did not proceed because the parties settled the case. Under the terms of the settlement, Adams was promoted to full professor and received seven years' back pay.[30]

Personal life

Adams was a member of several professional organizations, including the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, the Alabama-Mississippi Sociological Association, the American Society of Criminology, the National Association of Scholars, the Mid-South Sociological Association, the Southeastern Psychological Society and the Southern Sociological Society,[4] and the National Rifle Association.[6] He had also been a Christian convert from atheism since 2000,[31][7] switching his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican as a result.[1] He was married in 2003 to Krysten Dyanne Scott,[32] a then student of UNCW, but they later divorced.[33]

Death

On July 23, 2020, Adams was found dead at his home in Wilmington, North Carolina by police conducting a welfare check.[34] Release of the 911 tape from the event indicated Adams died of a gunshot wound.[34][35] On July 27 his death was ruled a suicide.[36]

Works
  • Welcome to the Ivory Tower of Babel: Confessions of a Conservative College Professor, 2004.
  • Feminists Say the Darndest Things: A Politically Incorrect Professor Confronts "Womyn" on Campus, 2007.
  • Letters to a Young Progressive: How to Avoid Wasting Your Time Protesting Things You Don't Understand, 2013.

References
  1. "Mike Adams". Townhall. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
  2. "California school's Ferguson 'grief' sessions blasted by former regent". Fox News. December 1, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  3. "Mike Adams". Wilmington Cares. Wilmington Funeral & Cremation. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  4. Adams, Mike S. "Vita" (PDF). University of North Carolina Wilmington. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 23, 2020.
  5. Baird, Pressley (July 15, 2014). "UNCW, professor settling case seven years after lawsuit". Wilmington Star News. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  6. "Mike Adams: Sociology and Criminology". University of North Carolina Wilmington. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014.
  7. Turscak, Mailee (March 26, 2014). "Mike Adams and the Seven Years' War". National Association of Scholars. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  8. Schachtman, Benjamin (July 23, 2020). "New Hanover Sheriff's Office investigating death of UNCW Professor Mike Adams". Port City Daily. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  9. Adams, Mike S. (2004). Welcome to the Ivory Tower of Babel: Confessions of a Conservative College Professor. Augusta, GA: Harbor House. ISBN 1-891799-17-7.
  10. Adams, Mike S. (2007). Feminists Say the Darndest Things: A Politically Incorrect Professor Confronts "Womyn" on Campus. New York: Sentinel HC. ISBN 978-1-59523-042-3.
  11. "Faculty". Summit Ministries. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  12. Stancill, Jane (December 8, 2016). "Campus free speech debate ignites after professor writes about gay Muslim student". The News & Observer. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  13. "Enough Is Enough: Calls for Mike Adams' dismissal grow louder from UNCW community". Encore. June 16, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  14. Fowler, Hayley (June 5, 2020). "Petition demands firing of NC professor for 'racist' tweets on George Floyd protesters". The News & Observer. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  15. Weller, Frances (June 13, 2020). "Actor Orlando Jones lashes out at UNCW for failing to fire Mike Adams". WECT News 6. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  16. Weller, Frances (June 15, 2020). "Hundreds of criminology professors, grad students join nationwide call for UNCW to fire Mike Adams". WECT News 6. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  17. Jaschik, Scott (July 6, 2020). "University Paid $504,000 to Get Rid of Professor". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  18. Sartarelli, Jose V. (July 2, 2020). "Message from Chancellor Sartarelli re: UNCW Statement July 2, 2020". University of North Carolina Wilmington. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  19. "UNCW issues statement after professor tweets controversial statements". WWAY TV. June 5, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  20. Ingram, Hunter (July 24, 2020). "Details sparse in death of UNCW professor Mike Adams". Wilmington Star News. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  21. "University of North Carolina at Wilmington: Invasion of Professor's Privacy and Suppression of Speech". The Fire. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  22. "Adams, Mike S. 1964-". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  23. Wilson (August 27, 2013). "Conservative professor embarrasses liberal critic with this epic response". GlennBeck.com. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  24. "Clients: Mike Adams". Legacy management. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  25. Adams, Mike S. (December 10, 2014). "Megyn Kelly And The Abortion Phile". Townhall. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  26. "Fighting the Academic Persecution of Christians". Christian Broadcasting Network. October 12, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  27. Adams v. University of North Carolina–Wilmington, 640 F.3d 550 (4th Cir. 2011).
  28. Baird, Pressley (March 20, 2014). "Professor wins lawsuit against UNCW". Wilmington Star News. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  29. "Adams v. University of North Carolina–Wilmington, 640 F.3d 550 (4th Cir. 2011)". American Association of University Professors. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  30. "Settlement Agreement" (PDF). Alliance Defending Freedom. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  31. Kupper, Crystal (September 2014). "Dr. Mike Adams: From Classroom to Courtroom". Focus on the Family Citizen. pp. 22–25. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  32. "Scott-Adams". Wilmington Star News. January 19, 2003. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  33. Murphy, Kate; Shaffer, Josh (July 24, 2020). "Friends pounded on NC professor Mike Adams' door, shouted his name before body was found". The News & Observer. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  34. Kosikowski, Ashlea (July 23, 2020). "Investigation underway into death of UNCW professor Mike Adams; 911 call details released". WECT News 6. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  35. "911 records: Mike Adams suffered gunshot wound, had reportedly been 'erratic' and stressed". Port City Daily. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  36. "UNCW professor Mike Adams' death ruled suicide, deputies say". WECT News 6. July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
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