A committee comprised of faculty members at the University of Arkansas has unanimously recommended the university reinstate a professor who was suspended over her social media posts. Shirin Saeidi, Ph.D., was removed from her job leading the university’s King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies, back in December 2025, and recommended to be fired.
As Little Rock Public Radio (LRPR) reports, the suspension followed complaints about her posts about Israel, Gaza and Iran, which were critical of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. The posts were also deemed controversial of then-Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The complaint against her also cited a previous warning letter on July 1, 2025, for improper use of university letterhead in submitting testimonial in defense of a former Iranian official in his war crimes trial in 2022.
Saeidi is an Iranian-born political science tenured professor at the University of Arkansas. In an interview with LRPR’s Lafayette, Arkansas sister station KUAF, her attorney, J.J. Thompson, said the faculty’s support is a positive development. “We are thrilled to see Dr. Saeidi’s colleagues standing behind her and recommending the university do the right thing and let her back into the classroom and let her get back to her duties. Obviously, the battle at this point is with the administration.”
The recommendation, by the University of Arkansas Faculty Committee on Appointment, Promotion and Tenure, is part of the appeals process, which is then forwarded to University of Arkansas System President Jay Silveria, for a final decision.
Univ. of Arkansas Faculty Support Reinstatement of Suspended Professor
