Eastern Michigan University has settled a lawsuit with a woman who was kicked out because of her opposition to affirming homosexuality.

Julea Ward was a student in the school's counseling program when she asked her superiors to refer a gay client to someone else.

She told professors that her Christian faith prohibited her from affirming homosexual behavior. Instead, EMU officials expelled her from the masters program.

The school has now settled with Ward for $75,000.

Her lawyer said her constitutionally protected rights have been "vindicated."

"Public universities shouldn't force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree," Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco, who argued Ward's case, charged.

"The Sixth Circuit rightly understood this and ruled appropriately, so the university has done the right thing in settling this case," he said.