University of Alabama's college of nursing invites faculty parents of school age children to quit

[Demovictory9]

https://www.motherjones.com/coronavirus-updates/2020/08/parents-who-teach-at-the-university-of-alabamas-nursing-school-were-practically-encouraged-to-quit/

Suzanne Prevost, the Dean of University of Alabama’s Capstone College of Nursing, sent out an email on Thursday that elicited shockwaves through the university’s faculty. In the email, which went out tonursing school’s faculty, Dean Prevost explained that she is “acutely aware” of the challenges of getting back to work right now and that those challenges are “especially pertinent for those of you,” she wrote in bold, “with school aged children.” She then implored her staff to let her know in advance if they would not be able to work in the fall so that the college will “have time to hire a new faculty member to replace you.”

“We wish that we had unlimited abilities to flex schedules and ‘make it work’ for everyone,” she wrote, “but this is just not the case.”


Dean Prevost wrote that she “wish[es] this thing would ‘just go away”’ and ended on the somber acknowledgement that”our wishes are not our reality.” (The word “wish” appeared four times in the email, suggesting that the resources Dean Prevost had at her disposal were tantamount to a pile of pennies aimed into an available fountain.)

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Following the backlash to the email, which was reposted on Twitter and Facebook by United Campus Workers Alabama, Dean Prevost issued a statement on Friday clarifying that she “did not mean to suggest that any of you should resign from your faculty positions or that you will be terminated if you are unable to return to work.” The statement also linked to the paid family leave available to staff.

Aside from the confused messaging, why were only faculty members of the nursing school recipients of such a missive? Could it have something to do with their gender? According to the last census, nursing is a profession dominated by women—90% of the faculty at the University of Alabama’s College of Nursing use she/her pronouns on their website, reflecting the national trend.

I have to wonder whether the same email would have ever gone out to faculty at the College of Engineering.

https://www.motherjones.com/coronavirus-updates/2020/08/parents-who-teach-at-the-university-of-alabamas-nursing-school-were-practically-encouraged-to-quit/


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EeRhJZVXgAAYhR3?format=jpg&name=small

[Nevilledog]

1. That's fucked up.

[dmr]

2. This puts a pit in my stomach

I'm speechless.

As the previous poster said: this is fucked up.

[Demovictory9]

11. yeah... glad the dean is getting a lot of blowback

[madaboutharry]

3. This is the exact bullshit that is destroying us.

This is the real message everyone needs to get from this letter: Suzanne Prevost is either too lazy or too stupid to figure it out.

[safeinOhio]

4. I would guess there are a lot of

web searches for Nursing Instructors wanted about now.

[Sunsky]

5. Thank goodness I didn't choose there for grad school

In this healthcare crisis, one would expect healthcare workers/educators to be uniquely empathetic and work to find solutions to mitigate this deadly virus.
My program is reducing class size (25% in class) and will continue to offer a fully online version of the program for the fall semester.

[yardwork]

6. This might be illegal. Employees have some rights.

It might be against the law to tell employees that the school won't help accommodate their needs. A federal lawsuit is possible here.

[crickets]

10. +1

[Chainfire]

7. What an idiot

Blinded by the Red light.

[themaguffin]

8. Also, if someone quits, they don't get unemployment ins.

[BusyBeingBest]

9. Shorter letter: "If you can't make this easy for us, then go away."

What assholes.