> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • The Evolution of Race in Admissions
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
Faculty Rights
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

Collin College Professor Gets 6-Figure Salary and Reinstatement After Free-Speech Lawsuit

By  Michael Vasquez
November 3, 2022
Collin College plaintiff Suzanne Jones. (JX Studio)
JX Studio
Suzanne Jones

Once again, Collin College has agreed to a large settlement payout in response to a lawsuit alleging that the Texas college fired a professor unjustly, in violation of the First Amendment.

This time, however, the fired professor got her job back — along with a hefty raise.

Suzanne Jones, an education professor, will return to the community college, located just outside of Dallas, in January, under a two-year contract. Her new annual salary: $115,000. If Jones quits before her two years are up, she will still receive the full $230,000 due under the employment contract, according to her

We’re sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network. Please make sure your computer, VPN, or network allows javascript and allows content to be delivered from c950.chronicle.com and chronicle.blueconic.net.

Once javascript and access to those URLs are allowed, please refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

Once again, Collin College has agreed to a large settlement payout in response to a lawsuit alleging that the Texas college fired a professor unjustly, in violation of the First Amendment.

This time, however, the fired professor got her job back — along with a hefty raise.

Suzanne Jones, an education professor, will return to the community college, located just outside of Dallas, in January, under a two-year contract. Her new annual salary: $115,000. If Jones quits before her two years are up, she will still receive the full $230,000 due under the employment contract, according to her lawyer in the case, Greg Harold Greubel.

“It’s as close to complete victory as you get in a settlement agreement,” said Greubel, a lawyer with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which advocates for faculty free-speech rights across the country.

ADVERTISEMENT

FIRE has also represented two other faculty members fired by Collin, which the free-speech group calls the “epicenter” of censorship in Texas.

Collin College became a free-speech battleground after the arrival of its controversial president, H. Neil Matkin, in 2015. The Chronicle profiled Matkin, and his profound impact on the college, last year.

Over and over again, faculty members have departed abruptly during the Matkin era, often under mysterious circumstances. Jones will be the first to return in triumph.

“I am happy to be back at Collin College,” Jones tweeted on Thursday. “And I am thankful to @TheFIREorg for helping me.”

A ‘Simple Solution’

ADVERTISEMENT

Before being terminated last year, Jones had been at Collin for nearly two decades, with many years of stellar job-performance evaluations.

But she had also spoken out on controversial public issues. Jones wrote a Facebook post criticizing the college’s response to Covid-19, and she signed an open letter calling for the removal of Confederate memorials in Dallas.

Jones was also a secretary for the campus chapter of the Texas Faculty Association, which is similar to an employee union under Texas labor law, but lacks the power of collective bargaining.

Jones held the same title for the larger statewide TFA organization, and the college cited her labor activities (and the fact she was listed as the Collin College contact) in her dismissal.

The Collin College administration, in response to the settlement announcement, released a joint statement with Jones’s lawyers.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Collin College is committed to its vision of creating a brighter future for its students and communities,” it states. “Dr. Jones has always thought highly of the college and knows it does amazing work in the county. She is very happy to return and be part of its culture of excellence.”

“Collin College recognizes that Dr. Jones is a great teacher and during her time at the college demonstrated good performance through high evaluations and was respected by her students and many of her colleagues,” the statement continues. “Dr. Jones is excited about her return to the classroom and is grateful to the administration for the opportunity to teach bright minds at the college.”

Earlier this year, in January, the college agreed to pay another fired professor, Lora D. Burnett, $70,000 in order to bring her First Amendment lawsuit to an end.

As part of both Burnett’s and Jones’s settlements, Collin College also agreed to pay the professors’ legal fees.

A third former Collin professor, Michael Phillips, still has a pending First Amendment lawsuit against the college.

ADVERTISEMENT

On Thursday, Burnett told The Chronicle that Jones had been “vindicated” by getting her old job back. But Burnett still expressed concern about how much Collin College is spending on lawyers’ fees related to complaints challenging faculty firings.

“The simple solution to this problem, to make sure that this kind of wastefulness doesn’t happen again,” she said, “would be for the college to simply respect the First Amendment rights of its professors … to simply not break the law. And I wonder if the college has learned a lesson yet.”

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Academic FreedomFree SpeechLeadership & Governance
Michael Vasquez
Michael Vasquez is a senior investigative reporter for The Chronicle. Before joining The Chronicle, he led a team of reporters as education editor for Politico, where he spearheaded the team’s 2016 Campaign coverage of education issues. Mr. Vasquez began his reporting career at The Miami Herald, where he worked for 14 years, covering both politics and education.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
    Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
  • The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
    The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
    Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin