A former University of Tennessee at Martin professor was fired after refusing to follow university directives to stop using the women’s restroom, ending her four-year career at the institution.

Johnnie LaDue, a transgender woman who worked as an assistant professor and information media librarian, said the dispute began after she started using the staff-only women’s restroom in the library. University officials warned her to stop, placed her on administrative leave and terminated her employment on Oct. 13, 2026.

LaDue began working at UT Martin in 2022, before she started her gender transition. At the time, she used a single-occupancy restroom in the library’s staff break room. However, after becoming more comfortable using women’s restrooms elsewhere, she decided to use the staff-only restroom near her office. The single-occupancy restroom was located in an area where employees gathered to eat and take breaks, making it an uncomfortable alternative.

“Like, imagine having a bathroom in your dining room where people are taking their break or eating or whatever,” LaDue said. “It’s awkward and a little bit demoralizing.”

After using the women’s restroom for several days, LaDue was approached by Library Dean Erik Nordberg, who informed her that someone had filed a complaint about her restroom use. He instructed her to stop or face further disciplinary action. Her options, according to LaDue, were to use the single-occupancy restroom or the men’s restroom.

Rather than agree to the directive, LaDue told Nordberg he should expect additional complaints because she did not intend to change her behavior.

Nordberg referred all questions on the matter to Vice Chancellor of Communications and Marketing Bud Grimes, who also declined to comment stating, “I’m advised by the university to decline commenting or being interviewed regarding this personnel matter.”

The following Monday, Nordberg delivered a written warning directing her to use one of the alternative restrooms. The warning cited the Riley Gaines Women’s Safety and Protection Act.

The act, which became state law on July 1, defines sex strictly as biological sex (male or female) determined at birth rather than gender identity. The law states it exists to “provide protections for women and girls against sexual assault, harassment, and violence in correctional facilities, juvenile detention facilities, public higher educational institutions, and domestic violence shelters or where women have been traditionally afforded safety and protection from acts of abuse committed by men” and requires public restrooms in those settings be designated and restricted by biological sex.

Civil rights and advocacy groups, including the Tennessee Equality Project, have strongly opposed the law, calling it “one of the most dangerous anti-transgender bills to come out of the Tennessee legislature” and arguing it endangers transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals in public facilities.

Despite the written warning, LaDue continued to use the women’s restroom. The following Wednesday, Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Laurie Couch visited LaDue’s office and informed her that she was being placed on paid administrative leave while the university considered her termination. Couch then walked LaDue to her car and watched as she left campus. LaDue was instructed not to conduct university business while on leave.

After filing an appeal and receiving a response from the university, LaDue submitted another letter. On Oct. 13, an armed campus police officer delivered her termination paperwork at her home.

The paperwork cited her “intentional and repeated failure to follow the lawful directives of University officials in accordance with the Riley Gaines Women’s Safety and Protection Act” as the basis for her termination, according to LaDue.

Despite the disciplinary action, LaDue maintained that she had no intention of changing her restroom use. She also described her employment record as free of previous disciplinary issues and said she had passed her mid-tenure review.

“I decided to stay principled,” LaDue said. “I’m a woman. I’m going to use the women’s room, and if you’re going to fire me for that, that’s on you. But I’m not going to change who I am or diminish who I am.”

For LaDue, the decision was about more than which restroom she could use. She described the experience of having to walk past the women’s restroom to reach the single-occupancy restroom as something that took an emotional toll.

“I decided a long time ago when I started teaching, I would rather be unemployed than unprincipled,” LaDue said. “That doesn’t mean I wanted to be unemployed. Not at all.”

LaDue described herself as the only openly transgender professor at UT Martin during her employment. Following her termination, she received messages of support from several transgender and gender-nonconforming students.

“I feel way worse for the trans students on campus,” LaDue said. “I can’t imagine exactly how that feels, but it can’t feel great.”

LaDue also received the L.A. McKee Ally and Advocate Award for faculty and staff in 2025, a few months before coming out at work. She said she made an effort to be involved in campus life, attending events and supporting students beyond her responsibilities in the library.

Now living in Detroit, LaDue is staying in a short-term rental with her dogs while searching for employment. She is also working to sell her home in Martin as she begins the process of moving forward after her termination.

Reflecting on how quickly the situation unfolded, LaDue described the period between her first warning and being placed on leave as a matter of days.

“From verbal warning to out the door in a week,” LaDue said.

LaDue hopes sharing her experience will bring attention to the treatment of transgender employees and students on college campuses.