Shannon Gibney, a full-time English professor at Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC), has received steady support from faculty across the country who charge that the college violated her right to academic freedom when they reprimanded her for teaching about structural racism.
“Our contract indicates we have academic freedom,” says Barbara Hager, who is president of the faculty union and a full-time professor of fine arts at MCTC. “If we can’t have hard conversations without being reprimanded, where can we have them?”
According to Gibney, Dr. Lois Bollman, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, accused her of creating a “hostile work environment” after two White male students complained that they felt singled out during the discussion and filed a formal complaint with the school’s office of legal affairs.
Hager, who is White, has used the incident to bring public attention to the college, which she says is in a deep crisis for its inability to publicly address diversity issues.
“There has to be healing among the faculty,” says Hager, who says that seven minority faculty have either been terminated or resigned in recent years after expressing their dismay with the college’s handling of diversity issues. She says that numerous complaints are pending with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and two other minority faculty have filed discriminatory lawsuits against the college. “We’ve not had the kind of training to welcome faculty of color. We have some racist attitudes and, of course, there is White privilege.”
Gibney declined to comment on the incident, but college officials refute Gibney’s allegations in a statement. “The college has taken no steps to prohibit faculty members from teaching about racism, including structural racism. MCTC has never disciplined a faculty member for teaching or discussing structural racism. Conversations about race, class and power are important and regular parts of many classes at MCTC and have been for years.”
