Columbus State professor resigns two positions after Charlie Kirk comments
A Columbus State University professor has resigned two of his positions but retains his teaching responsibilities following statements he made on a Ledger-Enquirer Facebook post about Charlie Kirk after his death.
According to screenshots of a Ledger-Enquirer post, Allen Gee, a creative writing professor at CSU, commented on an opinion piece regarding Charlie Kirk after his assassination in a shooting at Utah Valley University.
According to the screenshots, Gee wrote the following comment:
“Charlie Kirk was worth over $12 million. He spewed hate constantly and used any tactic he could–interruption, talking loudly and over students–to humiliate students. He never sought unity and reveled in putting down younger people. His debates were filled with falsehoods, racism, homophobia, and whitesupremacist rhetoric. There was very little that was brave about how he spread hate. His shooting was extremely sad, though, with him dying as a victim of the gun violence that he sanctioned, defending the second amendment after a school shooting in which children were killed. Sadly he received death threats all the time and his children will not grow up with their father, and his wife has lost her husband.”
Columbus State University spokesman Michael Tullier told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email Tuesday that Gee has resigned from his endowed professorship and as director of the CSU Press.
Gee retains his teaching responsibilities as a professor in the CSU English department, Tullier said.
CSU pesident’s statement about Charlie Kirk controversy
In a statement posted Monday on the university’s website, CSU President Stuart Rayfield responded to social media posts made by a “member of the Columbus State University community” she didn’t identity.
“While individuals — students, faculty and staff alike — are entitled to their own personal views under the First Amendment, those views do not represent the university,” Rayfield said. “Nor do they necessarily reflect our values.”
Rayfield said she regrets the comments have become associated with CSU and “have caused anger online and pain in our community.”
“Columbus State stands for respectful, civil discourse,” she said.
Backlash about Allen Gee’s comments on Charlie Kirk
Some Facebook users have called for Gee to be fired. One user, Chuck Raymer, said he is pulling his financial support for CSU until Gee is terminated.
A petition named “Investigate Faculty Misconduct at CSU” on change.org raised concerns about Gee’s comments. The petition had 12 signatures as of 1:17 p.m. Tuesday.
Gee declined to comment.
This story was originally published September 16, 2025 at 2:34 PM.