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Duquesne University has dismissed a professor who was placed on leave last month after he repeatedly used the N-word in class.
A dismissal letter says that the professor, Gary Shank, was fired for "serious misconduct" after a review of his conduct during a Sept. 9 session of his educational psychology class on adolescent and child psychology. A lawyer for Shank, Warner Mariani, said Shank will file a grievance to appeal the termination.
In videos of the class circulated on Twitter, Shank, a professor of educational studies, told students he was giving them “permission to use the word, because we’re using the word in a pedagogical sense.”
“What’s the one word about race that we’re not allowed to use?” he asked. “I’ll give you a hint: it starts with N. It’s even hard to say. I’ll tell you the word, and again I’m not using it in any way other than to demonstrate a point. Fair enough?”
Shank subsequently went on to say the full word and cite two examples of phrases incorporating the N-word that he said were commonly used in his youth. He posed the question of whether those phrases would be used today, and agreed with an individual heard in the video, presumably a student, that they would not be.
Duquesne, a Roman Catholic university in Pittsburgh, declined to comment on Shank’s employment status. However, the university said in a statement “it will confirm that it takes seriously Dr. Shank’s in-class conduct on September 9, 2020, which included his repeated use of a racial slur. Duquesne University is deeply committed to providing a campus and learning experience that is respectful, safe and inclusive for all members of the Duquesne community.”
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, an organization that promotes free speech and academic freedom on campuses, wrote to Duquesne's leadership and to the U.S. Department of Education raising concerns about Shank’s treatment.
"By firing Gary Shank for discussing a tough topic in his class, Duquesne betrays any commitment it purports to have to academic freedom, which protects the rights of faculty to choose whether and how to approach difficult subjects," FIRE said in a statement Wednesday.
Shank's lawyer, Mariani, said Duquesne has no rules forbidding use of the N-word. He said Shank used it "for educational purposes."
"It's all over Twitter: it speaks for itself," Mariani said. "He wasn’t being insulting to anyone or trying to degrade or demean anyone."
