EUGENE, Ore. — A University of Oregon law professor who wore blackface to a Halloween party is harshly criticizing an investigative report by the university that found she violated the institution’s anti-discrimination policies and caused damage to the law school, a newspaper reported Friday.
In a statement released through a public relations firm, Nancy Shurtz said the investigation into her actions that was released by the university earlier this week was a form of “supremely public retaliation” and amounted to a public shaming, the Register-Guard reported.
Shurtz said in the statement that the university’s investigation by two Portland-based attorneys includes errors and omissions that she tried to correct before it was released that take her actions out of context. She said she is consulting with an attorney.
The report was released last week.
The university’s media relations office did not immediately respond Friday to a telephone message seeking comment.
In an earlier apology, Shurtz said she had dressed up as Dr. Damon Tweedy, a Black psychiatrist who wrote a best-selling memoir called Black Man in a White Coast about his experiences with racism while in medical school. Her costume included black paint on her face and hands, the wig and a White doctor’s coat paired with a stethoscope.
The costume was intended to provoke discussion about racism and societal injustices, Shurtz has said. She did not respond to phone and email messages seeking additional comment.
