Duquesne University Professor On Paid Leave After Repeatedly Using The N-Word In Lecture
While Duquesne University is described as “one of the largest, most comprehensive Catholic universities in the U.S.,” they’re now being eyed for all of the wrong reasons thanks to professor Gary Shank — who is now on paid leave after a video went viral showing him repeatedly using the n-word in a recent lecture.
In the viral footage uploaded by a student on September 11, Shank, who has been teaching at the school since 1997, is heard using the racial slur at least three times, and prefacing his use by telling his students that he gives them permission to say the word in response to a relevant question asked, noting, he using it to “demonstrate a point.” He continues to say the word by describing Brazil Nuts as “N****r toes,” and saying if someone spent money “extravagantly,” they were referred to as “N****r rich.”
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Since his lecture, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania school has placed Shank on paid leave pending an investigation, and he issued an apology. While Shank is on leave, he is not teaching and another professor has taken over his classes. The dean of the school, Gretchen Generett, has also sent an email to students, stating, “I want to thank students for using their voices to share the troubling and disturbing language that was used by your professor in class. To be clear, I believe that there is never a time, pedagogically or otherwise, for a professor to create a hostile learning environment.”
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— Marc Jr™ (@_marcjr) September 11, 2020
