Following the recommendations of a faculty committee, Pacific University in Oregon has terminated a professor suspended last year for offensive comments on gender and ethnicity.
Richard Paxton, a professor in the College of Education, was on administrative leave since last year after students accused him of making inappropriate comments about gender and race during his teaching sessions.
Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that Paxton openly ignored the gender identity of agender and nonbinary people, proclaiming “every person has a gender” in class. He also described Native Americans as “warlike” and “aggressive.”
The Verdict
Pacific started an internal probe as soon as the complaints first aired. Upon investigation, the administration found substantial evidence that Paxton violated school policies. A series of formal dismissal proceedings followed, including a hearing with the school’s University Personnel Committee (UPC), at which Paxton refused to cooperate on a settlement agreement.
“Your comments were not accidental or isolated — the facts demonstrate a pattern of misconduct, and you had been warned that such statements and sentiments are inappropriate and you were instructed to refrain from such conduct,” wrote UPC Chair Krishnan Ramaya.
In a three-page memo sent to Paxton Wednesday, Ramaya detailed the committee’s recommendation of dismissal and laid out appeal options. He also noted that Paxton’s alleged remarks and behavior negatively impacted students and faculty members, as other professors also filed complaints.
“The UPC findings demonstrate grave personal or professional misconduct that would invoke the condemnation of the academic community generally and grave violations of the rights and freedoms of fellow faculty members and students. Therefore, the UPC recommends your dismissal as a tenured faculty member of Pacific University,” Ramaya concluded.
Response
Paxton has been given 10 business days to make an appeal, and his disappointment over the school’s decision has been made clear.
“We are saddened, but not surprised, at the final actions taken by Pacific University to terminate the career of a dedicated and tenured professor. There is a reason Pacific University is the subject of a comprehensive federal investigation by the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education concerning its actions in this case. We look forward to that agency, as well as a jury, rendering decisions on Pacific’s conduct,” Atty. Robin DesCamp, the lawyer representing Paxton, said in an email to OPB.
“Clearly, both tenure and academic freedom are dead at Pacific, and anyone, whether a student or employee, can be expelled for speech another person either does not understand or that they dislike. These are frightening times at Pacific University,” DesCamp added.
