Thanks to a tip from our CUNY affiliate, NAS published an article exposing the gaffe of a Brooklyn College faculty member, Jocelyn Wills, who wrote in an email, "Please spread the word among your colleagues and friends on Faculty Council, that we need to correct the lily-white imbalances of the Dean's Search Committees, all four of them."
NAS pointed out 4 problems with such a statement:
- It is blatantly racist against white faculty members.
- It assumes that racial balance should be the norm.
- It calls on colleagues to discriminate based on race.
- It disrespects the non-racial merits of the people Wills wants to help.
The day after this article was published, the New York Post covered the story in "Lily-White Prof-Panel Slam," which notes that Wills resigned after she was elected to the search committee.