Georgia Southern University Director of Health and Wellness Gemma Skuraton will receive $250,000 in a settled lawsuit after she was fired from the college in 2025 for opposing rollbacks to LGBTQ+ rights on campus.
According to the lawsuit, more conservative leadership took over Georgia Southern’s administration in 2024, and the LGBTQ+ community outreach and engagement was targeted.
A Pride flag was removed from the student counseling center, and posters with information about gender-affirming health care were taken down as administrators feared federal funding would be revoked.
Related story: HRC files class action over federal ban on gender-affirming care coverage
In 2025, after the Georgia State Assembly passed SB1 banning transgender college athletes from participating on teams that align with their gender, Vice President of Student Affairs Shay Little told Skuraton that the university had rejected a grant application to provide access to free chest binders for students. Little had previously endorsed the application.
Following these actions, students protested and reached out to local media about the anti-LGBTQ+ environment. Little allegedly accused Skuraton of instigating these protests. Less than a month later, Skuraton was fired despite positive evaluations in 2023 and 2024.
Skuraton filed a lawsuit under the First Amendment and Title IX, represented by Artur Davis and Meagan Rafferty at HKM Employment Attorneys.
The lawsuit was filed on March 18, 2025. The settlement was reached earlier this month, requiring Little and the Georgia Board of Regents to pay Skuraton $250,000.
“Gemma Skuraton lost a job, but she kept her moral compass.” Davis said. “This result is a reminder that while political tides change, the Constitution and the federal legal protections for vulnerable students and their advocates are still standing. And those laws aren’t cheap; they exact a cost when they are violated.”
