Naval Academy Settles Complaint Filed by Professor Who Claimed Blacks Get “Easy Pass” on Admissions

The United States Naval Academy has reached a settlement with an English professor who claimed his right of free speech was being abridged. In 2009, Bruce Fleming, a professor of English at the academy, published an op-ed piece in the Annapolis Capital. He claimed that the Naval Academy operated a two-tier admissions systems which made it easier for black and other minority students to gain admission. For an earlier JBHE report on Fleming’s claims, click here.

Three months after the article was published, Fleming was denied a merit pay increase. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel found “evidence indicating that the USNA illegally denied the employee a merit pay increase because of his public statements.” But in the settlement reached between the school and the professor, the USNA did not admit any wrongdoing in the case. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Copyright © 2011. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.