TribLive.com reports a Duquesne University professor has made clear to the institution that he won’t resign amid the controversy of his use of the n-word.
On Wednesday morning, the university’s legal team delivered Shank an ultimatum — resign voluntarily, or face the dismissal process, according to emails shared by Shank’s attorney. The university first asked Shank to submit his resignation by noon Wednesday, then sent a follow-up email extending the deadline until the end of day Thursday.
Shank has no intention to resign, according to his attorney.
Shank, who is white, gave participants of the online class in question “permission” to use the N-word “in a pedagogical sense,” though no students did so during the two minutes of video posted to social media. The professor then repeatedly said the word while explaining he was demonstrating a point about how when he was younger it was “a very commonly used word.”
This case is really simple: Let him sue. Because even if Duquesne loses the lawsuit, it wins for taking the high road. The professor can make any (nonsensical) claims that the n-word was being used as an educational exercise, but repeating it as he did while encouraging his students to follow his lead is unethical and unprofessional.
