The American Association of University Professors issued a statement Thursday condemning OU for removing the graduate instructor who gave a failing grade to a student’s Bible-based essay.
In late November, OU junior Samantha Fulnecky publicly contested a grade she received on an essay that cited the Bible. Fulnecky claimed Mel Curth, the graduate instructor who gave the grade, discriminated against her on the basis of religion.
Curth was placed on administrative leave immediately following the appeal. On Dec. 22, the university announced Curth would no longer have instructional duties. Brittany Stewart, a self-employed civil rights attorney representing Curth, wrote in a Bluesky statement Dec. 30 that Curth submitted an appeal against the university's decision that she engaged in arbitrary grading and religious discrimination.
In the statement, AAUP President Todd Wolfson wrote the suspension of Curth is a violation of academic freedom and due process.
“The suspension of Mel Curth, a graduate instructor at the University of Oklahoma (OU), stemming from a grading dispute with a student, is an egregious violation of widely accepted principles of academic freedom and due process, …” Wolfson wrote. “An administrative officer's unilaterally changing a course grade originally assigned by the instructor of record constitutes an unacceptable departure from the normative academic standards supported by the AAUP.”
Wolfson wrote the situation is concerning, mentioning OU’s recently implemented policy which immediately suspends instructors who receive student complaints until an investigation is concluded. The policy was quietly enacted by OU last month, according to OU professor John Schmeltzer, who participated in discussions surrounding the policy at a Faculty Senate meeting.
Faculty Senate Chair Sarah Robbins wrote in an email to Faculty Senate members that its Executive Committee met with Hollye Hunt, vice president of executive affairs and chief of staff, and with OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. to discuss the policy, but no further information has been released.
“OU’s recently implemented policy of suspending instructors immediately upon a student complaint flies in the face of long-established academic due-process protections. The adoption of this policy invites a flood of politically motivated accusations by those wishing to censor classroom discussion on any topics with which individuals disagree,” Wolfson’s statement reads.
The AAUP echoed its OU chapter’s Jan. 2 statement calling on the university to release full details on the processes that resulted in Curth’s suspension, urging the university to affirm the right of faculty and instructors to grade, teach and research without external pressures. It also asks to work with the campus community to develop a “Harassment Response and Prevention Plan” that would include clear guidelines in responding to “political attacks.”
The Daily reached out to OU Marketing and Communications twice via email on Dec. 12 for more information about the formal timeline of academic appeals, the status of Fulnecky’s religious discrimination appeal, and whether her grade appeal was expedited.
OU Daily asked the following questions:
• How many grade appeals have been filed so far this academic year?
• What colleges have these appeals come from?
• How many grade appeals were filed last academic year?
• How long does the grade appeal process traditionally take?
• Many believe Samantha Fulnecky's grade appeal process was expedited. Can OU confirm or deny these beliefs?
• Does OU have a statement or comment on the status of Fulnecky's religious discrimination appeal at this time?
An OU spokesperson referred the Daily to OU’s open records website and said to file a request for more information regarding the questions.
Background
Fulnecky contested a grade on an essay assignment in an OU psychology course, stating she believed she received the grade because of her religious beliefs. Fulnecky reportedly received zero out of 25 points for the assignment. Fulnecky also filed a formal claim of illegal discrimination based on religious beliefs.
In the essay, which was published by The Oklahoman, Fulnecky cites the Bible to argue traditional gender roles should not be considered stereotypes. She wrote eliminating gender would put people “farther from God’s original plan for humans.”
The instructor stated the grade was based on the essay’s lack of empirical evidence and said parts of the essay were offensive, according to reporting by The Oklahoman.
Fulnecky reportedly asked her instructor to reconsider the grade, stating she met the requirements of the essay, but the instructor denied the request.
Fulnecky’s appeal has drawn state and national attention. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt posted on the social platform X on Nov. 30 that the situation was “deeply concerning” and called on the OU Board of Regents to review the results of the investigation. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis referred to the situation as an example of “intellectual rot in higher education” in a post on X.
Around 250 supporters of Curth held a protest on the university’s campus Dec. 5, calling for university administration to protect its professors under political attacks.
OU announced in a statement Dec. 22 that Curth would no longer have instructional duties at the university after the conclusion of the investigation.
Grade appeal process
On Dec. 9, OU’s AAUP chapter called for the university to publicly disclose all facts regarding Curth being placed on administrative leave, claiming the university’s public statement gave no defense to the instructor’s academic freedom.
Michael Givel, OU political science professor and OU-AAUP president, told the Daily that OU students must first attempt to resolve disputed grades informally with instructors before they can file a grade appeal. According to Givel, if a student wishes to continue the appeal process after appealing to the department chair, a student may request a hearing from their college’s academic board.
Givel said in Fulnecky’s case, the next steps following speaking with the instructor would be to contact department leadership.
“You need to contact them and try to resolve this informally, …” Givel said. “If that doesn't work, then the next route of appeal is the department chair, (in this case), the chair of the psychology department.”
Givel said time constraints and staff commitments often stretch an appeal into a weeks-long process. He said that due to these traditional time constraints, Fulnecky’s grade appeal results being released quickly was unusual.
“There is usually a time lag in terms of when people can meet with you, …” Givel said. “Doing it within 24 hours or 48 hours is ordinarily not what happens in reality.”
Givel said that Fulnecky effectively waived at least some of her FERPA protections after talking with local and national media about her essay. Givel added that the expedition of Fulnecky’s grade appeal raises questions about the manner and nature of the appeal.
“Ordinarily, grade appeals take several weeks,” Givel said. “A reasonable question of this is, ‘Why was this expedited so quickly?’ particularly when it became public information at The Oklahoman and the governor is talking about (it).”
Givel said the local, national and international attention Fulnecky’s appeal brought to OU could have been a factor in its expedition.
“Suddenly, this became very politically and publicly hot,” Givel said. “So did OU decide they were going to move quickly because of that? Are they making public statements about employment status and that sort of thing? That's a really good question.
“I suggest you ask them.”
This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure, Audrey McClour and Macey Thaxton.
