Virginia Wesleyan University (VWU) professor of Management, Business, and Economics Paul Ewell has resigned in the wake of enormous backlash after his scathing remarks on Facebook against Biden voters.
Ewell also resigned as dean of Virginia Wesleyan University Global Campus last week.
In the now-deleted post, Ewell called Biden voters “ignorant, anti-American, and anti-Christian” who are corrupting both America and its youth. In his tirade, the former VWU professor demanded any Democrat “unfriend” him on the platform.
Ewell’s fierce words were generally met with disdain and criticism. The university released a statement over the weekend acknowledging the situation but clarified that the opinions he expressed were solely his.
Ewell’s Apology
On Monday, Ewell apologized for his remarks in an interview with WAVY, saying they were made out of anger. Ewell acknowledged he “set a poor example in that post of what a Christian should be” and apologized to all his Democratic friends.
However, several VWU alumni criticized such a display from an educator as unprofessional, stating that in times of such rampant divisiveness, respectful dialogue with ideological opponents is necessary.
Jasmine Patterson from the VWU Class of 2014 said that Ewell’s post closed off the idea of having to work through a difference of opinion. “He can resign if he wants to, but I don’t think that should be the end all, be all. Because even though he is inciting to be closed off from conversation, that could be a conversation for him to engage in, to think about,” she told WAVY.