University of Oregon President Michael Schill says he is saddened and angered that a law professor donned blackface to host a Halloween party.
In a letter to campus Schill says he’s troubled that a member of the UO’s law faculty “would not understand that the use of blackface is deeply offensive and an act of racism.”
Schill says over the past year, the University has worked with African American students and faculty to make the U of O a place “where educational opportunity and excellence are accessible to all”. At the urging of the Black Student Task Force, the school decided to remove the name of a former Ku Klux Klan leader from one of the campus buildings. Schill also points to the modest increase in the number of African American students in the freshman class.
Schill says he will not let the Halloween incident slow the U of O’s progress.
Some of Law Professor Nancy Shurtz’s colleagues have called on her to resign.
Shurtz is on paid leave while the office of Affirmative Action investigates her actions. Schill asks people to treat her with compassion, and hopes “we would ultimately be judged for what we do on our best days as well as our worst.”
