A tenured professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has alleged the school and fellow faculty members of indulging in racism, sexual harassment, and discrimination against LGBTQ students.
Professor Christopher Hensley, who teaches Criminal Justice at the Social, Cultural, and Justice Studies Department, on Sunday evening sent an email to the students alleging school of conspiring to terminate him.
He also raised the issue of pay difference between the faculty members and has accused his fellow faculty members of filing “baseless” complaints of sexual harassment and racism against him and claims that he is being targeted because he is a gay.
“If you are gay, bisexual, lesbian, transgender, binary etc. Please don’t tell any of the Criminal Justice faculty as they will talk about you and out you to others,” Hensley wrote in the email.
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“I am being terminated because I complained about the inequities at UTC. Did I commit deviant behaviors? Yes. Did it interfere with my job or the students that I teach? No. Did I commit any crimes? No. And, if I ever engaged in any sexual harassment, every faculty member in criminal Justice department has with the exception of Ahmet Kule.”
The university, meanwhile, says that the professor is still employed with the department. According to Times Free Press, the university spokesperson has not said if the professor would be terminated.
“The claims are being addressed in accordance with the University’s processes and procedures. Since the process is ongoing, the University is unable to provide further comment at this time,” the spokesperson told the Free Press.
College of Arts and Sciences Interim Dean Joe Wilferth also reached out to the students and urged them to focus on their final exams.
“It has come to my attention that Dr. Hensley sent you an e-mail message late last night wherein he characterizes, from his perspective, circumstances surrounding his being placed on ‘leave’ from campus. Such a message is unfortunate for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it creates a distraction for you at the end of the Fall ’18 semester,” Wilferth wrote in the email. “That said, I simply ask here that you remain focused in your studies.”
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