Originally published on 8.24.22

Dr. Barry Mehler was suspended in January after his semester introduction video titled “More Bad News” went viral, amassing over 500,000 views on YouTube and over a combined 12 million views on TikTok. 

The settlement was reached after Mehler’s request for a temporary injunction was denied at his March 7 hearing. The agreement reached paid Mehler out $95,000 if he elected to retire effective immediately of  March 15, the agreement date, in lieu of further actions being taken that could result in his discharge.

In his semester introduction video, Mehler used a variety of profanity to express his concerns about the university’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, namely the lack of a vaccine mandate. He further goes on to describe his fictitious Calvinistic grading system, in which the students’ grades were said to be predetermined before they stepped foot into class. This tactic was used to get students thinking about theology and to reconsider the ways they think they know what they know.