Fresno State Professor Randa Jarrar has requested leave from her teaching duties this spring, according to her Twitter account and information provided to Breitbart News by the university.
Jarrar, a professor of English at Fresno State, is facing quite the backlash after she published several tweets celebrating the death of former First Lady Barbara Bush.
“Barbara Bush was a generous and smart and amazing racist who, along with her husband, raised a war criminal. F**k outta here with your nice words,” Jarrar tweeted on Tuesday.
In a separate tweet, Jarrar said that the news made her “happy” because Barbara Bush’s death likely made George W. Bush upset.
After Jarrar’s tweet invoked a tidal wave of responses, the professor bragged that she could never be fired because she had tenure.
“Sweetie i work as a tenured professor,” she tweeted at one user. “I make 100K a year doing that. i will never be fired. i will always have people wanting to hear what i have to say. even you are one of them!”
Following the backlash, Jarrar set her Twitter account to private. She edited her Twitter biography to add the line: “currently on leave from Fresno State.”
In a comment to Breitbart News, Fresno State said that Professor Jarrar has “requested a leave” for the spring semester and will not be teaching classes.
In a public statement, Fresno State President Joseph Castro said that he was concerned by the remarks Jarrar made about Bush on Twitter.
On behalf of Fresno State, I extend my deepest condolences to the Bush family on the loss of our former First Lady, Barbara Bush. We share the deep concerns expressed by others over the personal comments made today by professor Randa Jarrar, a professor in the English Department at Fresno State.
Her statements were made as a private citizen, not as a representative at Fresno State.
Professor Jarrar’s expressed personal views and commentary are obviously contrary to the core values of our University, which include respect and empathy for individuals with divergent points of view, and a sincere commitment to mutual understanding and progress.
This is not the first incident at Fresno State featuring a crazed professor. In November, Fresno State Professor Gregory Thatcher was forced by a court to pay a $17,000 fine after he was caught on camera erasing the chalk messages of a pro-life student group.