Two Philosophers Win “Courageous Colleague” Award

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has bestowed its Berkson Courageous Colleague Award on two philosophers. Clemson faculty members Charlie Kurth, left, and Mike Gregory, right, receive the Berkson Courageous Colleague Award (FIRE). Those two philosophers are Mike Gregory and Charlie Kurth, both of Clemson University. After two faculty and a staff member at Clemson were fired for social media posts in the wake of the killing of rightwing activist Charlie Kirk, Professors Gregory and Kurth “sprang into action.” FIRE’s announcement of the award continues: Gregory wrote an op-ed criticizing the school for “a pattern of capitulation” in punishing faculty, while Kurth put a sign on his office door reading, “My employer is morally bankrupt.” The sign generated some attention online, including from one former South Carolina House representative who posted his disapproval on X. But Gregory and Kurth weren’t done. “We no longer know what speech will be tolerated or…