From Gruber v. Bruce, decided last week by Judge Waverly Crenshaw (M.D. Tenn.):
An internecine difference of opinion among academics at Tennessee Tech University ("TTU" or "Tech") led to this action … asserting First Amendment retaliation … claims. The case arose after two faculty members were disciplined by the Provost for distributing flyers on campus that labeled another faculty member a racist….
Dr. Julia Gruber is a tenured Associate Professor of German at TTU, while Mr. Andrew Smith is a tenured Instructor in the Department of English at that institution. Dr. Lori Bruce is the Provost at TTU and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
In 2021, a student chapter of Turning Point USA ("TPUSA") was established at TTU. TPUSA s is a national organization with a presence at many college campuses across the United States. It came to TTU after Gittle Sciolis, a student at the school, filed a petition to make TPUSA a student club. Ms. Sciolis has described the club as a "conservative organization for college students [and] high school students" with a mission "to spread conservative ideas." For their part, Plaintiffs believe that TPUSA is a racist organization and "national hate group" with "ties to white supremacy." Dr. Andrew Donadio …, a County Commissioner and an Assistant Professor of Nursing, serves as TPUSA's faculty advisor at TTTU.
