The faculty of Emory University’s College of Arts and Sciences has voted to censure university President James Wagner.
This comes after Dr. Wagner’s letter in the monthly alumnae magazine referenced the Three Fifths Slavery compromise as an example of the way the university could move forward amid forthcoming academic changes.
Associate professor Jason Francisco says nearly two hundred faculty attended Wednesday night’s meeting.
Francisco is in Emory’s visual arts department.
He says while initially not on the meeting agenda, discussion turned to Wagner’s letter:
“In the end the faculty did vote to censure the president for the column. The vote for censure was virtually unanimous.”
Many of the faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences are already at odds with President Wagner since the announcement of academic changes.
Jason Francisco’ visual arts department would be eliminated.
However, the associate professor says the 3/5 slavery compromise analogy was inappropriate.
And Francisco called Wagner’s apology even more unacceptable.
“I was unsatisfied by that, very unsatisfied by it. It seemed to me to be an effort to quell the media firestorm more than a searching response to the questions that were raised about the original article.”
Francisco says he hopes the firestorm begins a much deeper dialouge within the Emory Community.
President James Wagner has yet to agree to an interview.
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