University of Kansas Faculty Member Placed on Leave After Allegedly Using Racial Slur in Class

kansasAndrea Quenette, a White assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas, was placed on paid leave while the university investigates a complaint that she used the word “nigger” in the classroom. The graduate class of 10 students taught by Dr. Quenette included one African American.

Five students filed a racial discrimination complaint with the university’s Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access. In a letter to the campus community, students in the class stated that Dr. Quenette said, “As a White woman I just never have seen the racism…It’s not like I see ‘Nigger’ spray painted on walls.”

In the letter, the students wrote: “Dr. Quenette indicated that because she has not experienced or witnessed discrimination, it is not happening at KU. She asked for more evidence, and was dismissive of the multiple examples provided. These comments demonstrate not only an unwillingness to accept evidence contrary to her own ideas and experiences but also exemplify the dismissal and questioning of minority students’ experiences that has reinforced the very structural discrimination they seek to destroy by speaking up.”

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Huston-Tilloston University to Establish Two Satellite Campus in California

Huston-Tilloston University, a historically Black educational institution in Austin, Texas, has announced plans to launch two new satellite campuses in California. The university has already received approval to begin offering online courses to California students in January.

Two Black Scholars Selected for Endowed Professorships at Ivy League Universities

The two Black scholars appointed to endowed faculty positions at Ivy League schools are Vaughn Booker at the University of Pennsylvania and Dorceta Taylor at Yale University.

Sanofi Grants $18 Million to Three Historically Black Medical Schools to Increase Diversity in Clinical Studies

Thanks to an $18 million investment from Sanofi, Meharry Medical College, Howard University, and Morehouse School of Medicine plan to expand their clinical research staff, pharmacy infrastructure, and training programs.

Kemeshia Swanson Receives 2024 Eudora Welty Book Prize

Dr. Swanson, an assistant professor at Mississippi State University, has been recognized for her new book, Maverick Feminist: To Be Female and Black in a Country Founded Upon Violence and Respectability.

Featured Jobs