The American Association of University Professors delivered a national petition to university administration Friday in support of an OU graduate instructor who was removed for giving a failing grade on a Bible-based essay.
In late November, OU junior Samantha Fulnecky publicly contested a grade she received on an essay which 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 she will no longer have instructional duties. Brittany Stewart, a self-employed civil rights attorney, 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.
The petition, which was first circulated Dec. 15, has amassed 23,848 signatures as of Friday afternoon. The petition includes the letter sent to OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. by the AAUP which claims that the university has not adequately explained the process that led to Curth’s removal.
“OU’s decision to place the instructor on administrative leave following a routine grading dispute—a decision it has yet to adequately explain—and subsequent failure to defend her from harassment and discrimination, including reported death threats, raises serious concerns about the University’s commitment to educational standards, academic freedom, and instructor safety,” the letter reads.
The organization states the decision to revoke Curth’s instructional duties may mitigate controversy, but it poses a threat to educators and researchers.
“The OU administration may view their actions as the best strategy to mitigate institutional risk but it comes at the expense of the educators and researchers who make our university function. Principles of academic freedom entail the ‘right of faculty members to select the materials, determine the approach to the subject, make the assignments, and assess student academic performance in teaching activities,’” the letter reads. “When the University fails to defend these principles against attacks, it chills intellectual expression and increases the risk to faculty and graduate students.”
The petition calls for OU to release full details on the policies and processes that resulted in Curth’s removal, publicly reaffirm the right for faculty and instructors to teach and grade without political interference and work with the campus community to develop a “Harassment Response and Prevention Plan” that would include clear guidelines in responding to “political attacks.”
The organization also writes in the letter that it appreciates OU’s continued commitment to academic freedom, but it disagrees with Curth’s removal.
“Upholding these values and commitments requires that every member of our community–faculty, students, staff, and administrators–engage with one another authentically, thoughtfully, and in a spirit of mutual respect,” the letter reads. “It also requires that the University safeguard the freedom to teach, learn, explore, and debate ideas, even when doing so is uncomfortable, challenging, or politically unpopular.”
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 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.”
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.
According to a Dec. 11 email obtained by the Daily, the OU Faculty Senate learned during its monthly meeting on Dec. 8 that it is now university policy to give paid suspension to any faculty member against whom a student has filed a complaint. Following multiple discussions last week with OU Faculty Senate, university leadership is working toward officially formalizing this policy, the email states.
This story was edited by Audrey McClour and Anusha Fathepure.
