UF Rescinds Emeritus Status for Professor Over Kirk Facebook Post

The University of Florida rescinded a retired professor’s emeritus status Friday, the university announced, over a Facebook post the evening of Charlie Kirk’s death that garnered social media backlash.

The university posted to social media Friday that “a retired faculty member who issued a post on social media that is raising concerns” had lost emeritus status. In a followup, the university did not confirm to the Phoenix who the professor was. The Gainesville Sun reported that it had confirmed the professor in question is retired UF law professor Jeffrey Harrison.

The professor, on his public Facebook profile, posted the night of the day Kirk was killed:

“There is a lot of commentary about Charlie Kirk. It’s not that complicated. He was a evil person spounting [sic] all kinds of hateful messages. I did not want him to die. I reserve that wish for Trump. But let’s face it, even members of the Gestapo and guards at the concentration camps had children. That does not make them heros [sic], nor does it make Charlie Kirk someone to be admired,” he continued.

The post was still up at the time the Phoenix started writing this story; however, before the story published and after a reporter messaged Harrison requesting an interview, his profile disappeared.

Scott Presler, a conservative activist with 2.3 million followers on X, posted to that social media platform Thursday calling for the professor to “lose any affiliation w/ UF & any current duties.”

Thursday, Harrison posted, “I am  getting a lot of hateful commentary about a recent post in which I did not want Charlie Kirk to die but it would be fine with me if Trump did. The latter sentiment i have seen on Facebook scores of times. This avalanche of hate came after someone reposted my original post on X. This leads me to ask if X has gone over, even more than Facebook, to Trumpers?” This post, too, is no longer publicly available.

According to UF regulations, the emeritus title is “conferred in recognition of meritorious service, and it shall entail continued campus courtesies … including parking, use of the library and recreation facilities, admission to athletics and cultural events, receipt of such publications as are sent to regular faculty members and members of the Alumni Association, participation in contract and grant endeavors, and participation in academic convocations.”

The retired professor is no longer listed on the Levin College of Law list of emeritus faculty.

Harrison wrote in The Gainesville Sun a guest column in 2022 that criticized UF administrators who “cowered” to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The rescinded emeritus status follows warnings from Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas and State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues promising accountability for educators “celebrating or excusing campus violence.”

The University of Miami, Florida Atlantic University, and now UF have been subject of attention regarding professors’ social media posts since Kirk’s death.

Various K-12 teachers have been under investigation, too, as the Phoenix previously reported.

Friday, Miami-Dade public schools confirmed to the Phoenix that it has received five allegations against employees for inappropriate conduct on social media or in the classroom related to Kirk’s death. Those allegations are under investigation, the district said.

–Jay Waagmeester, Florida Phoenix