US: Gallaudet University reinstates diversity officer suspended for signing equal marriage petition
The diversity officer of a university who was suspended for three months after she signed a petition sent by opponents of marriage equality in the state of Maryland has been reinstated.
The Dr’s reinstatement was announced by an email to the campus from university president T Alan Hurwitz, sent on Monday. The statement did not give any reasons for Dr McCaskill’s reinstatement.
Dr T Alan Hurwitz’s statement read: “This has been a period of reflection for all of us,” Hurwitz said. “I am deeply appreciative of the time you have taken to communicate your views, of the clearly heartfelt manner in which you have expressed those thoughts, and of the overall maturity you have shown in your willingness to consider the differing views others may hold.
“The work of the university’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion is vital and must continue in an active and vibrant way. I personally look forward to working with Dr. McCaskill on the work of that office.”
According to her biography on the Gallaudet website, Dr McCaskill was the first deaf African American female to earn a Ph.D. there, serves on the Board of Trustees of the Maryland School for the Deaf, and has a lengthy résumé of positions held at the university, where she has worked for 23 years.
The Gallaudet University Twitter page says it is “the world’s only university where programs and services are designed for deaf & hard of hearing students.”