The OU Graduate Student Senate discussed its Tuesday meeting with OU administration regarding the termination of graduate instructor Mel Curth at its Thursday night virtual meeting.
GSS Chair Summer Edwards said she, along with GSS Ways and Means Committee Chair Sam Jensen, GSS Secretary Libby Ryan and GSS Vice Chair Dana Mahmoud, spoke about Curth’s termination and the impact it had across campus.
Edwards read a statement, which was also shared via email to OU Daily, that GSS leaders met with OU Senior Vice President and Provost André-Denis Wright, OU Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students David Surratt, OU Graduate College Dean Randall Hewes and OU College of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael Markham.
“Our goal was to begin an open dialogue with the administrators involved in this case and to share the real experiences of students and faculty following (Curth’s) removal,” Edwards read from the statement. “We emphasized the lack of trust many graduate students are feeling, along with safety concerns, fear surrounding grading and a broader sense of powerlessness. I believe we communicated these concerns clearly and thoughtfully.”
Edwards said because the religious discrimination claims are still under investigation, there are certain details that neither students nor administrators can access until the investigation is completed.
Edwards said grade appeals are typically handled internally between teaching assistants, faculty members and academic leadership. Due to widespread media attention and involvement of state-level officials, OU administrators said the decision to place Curth on leave was made as a protective measure.
“We were also informed that multiple university bodies contributed to this decision, including the provost, academic deans, the College of Arts and Sciences, the grade appeals committee and the Faculty Senate executive committee,” Edwards read.
Edwards said it is important to recognize that campus tensions cannot be resolved in a single meeting and other topics, which she did not identify, remain unaddressed.
Edwards said Wright invited GSS to participate in discussions related to this case. She also announced the Graduate College is planning a moderated webinar focused on classroom challenges and student conduct.
“As members of the Graduate Student Senate, it is critical that we continue advocating for graduate student protections and representation, …” Edwards said. “This meeting marked the beginning of what we expect to be ongoing and frequent conversations with University leadership.”
After reading the statement, Edwards said she believes the meeting was successful.
“It’s encouraging to know that at least the members of the (executive team) are going to be part of the continued conversations, as well as that the Graduate College and others are working on current events to kind of be more transparent and provide better training and protection to graduate students,” Edwards said.
The meeting comes two weeks after GSS passed a bill calling for transparency in OU’s investigation of the grading appeal. The bill states the university has damaged Curth’s reputation and the institution as a whole, created an opportunity for lawsuits against the university and did not clarify whether any official policies were followed during the investigation.
The bill also calls for the university to reinstate Curth, allow an independent audit into the university’s decision and respond to both the senate’s first resolution and the American Association of University Professors petition calling for faculty protections against “political attacks.”
On Tuesday, OU Faculty Senate proposed a resolution affirming it was not involved in discussions to terminate Curth, despite previous claims from the university, but failed to vote during the meeting after it no longer met quorum. Faculty Senate has until 8 a.m. Friday to virtually vote on approving the resolution.
Mahmoud said she and Jensen attended the Faculty Senate meeting on Tuesday, where senators shared their support for the OU-AAUP petition and GSS transparency bill.
“(Jensen) and I, at one point, did get a whole room (of) applause for our resolution that we all passed, which was an amazing moment to be in,” Mahmoud said. “I think that really just shows that the work that we do has impacts across campus, including faculty, and I thought that was a very encouraging moment.”
Background
In November, junior psychology student Samantha Fulnecky publicly contested a failed grade on an essay assignment for 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 Bible-based essay and filed an illegal discrimination claim. Curth, the course’s instructor, was placed on leave later that month.
Curth stated the grade was based on the essay’s use of empirical evidence and said parts of the essay were offensive, according to reporting by The Oklahoman. Fulnecky reportedly asked Curth to reconsider the grade, stating she met the requirements of the essay, but Curth denied the request.
The other instructor for the course, according to Canvas comments published by The Oklahoman, wrote that they concurred with Curth’s grading and the paper should not be considered as a completion of the assignment.
On Dec. 5, around 250 protesters gathered on campus in support of Curth. Protesters also called on OU to protect its professors from political attacks.
On Dec. 22, OU announced that following an investigation, it was determined Curth engaged in arbitrary grading and would no longer have instructional duties at OU. Curth submitted an appeal to the Institutional Equity Office on Dec. 30, according to her attorney.
Fulnecky’s appeal has drawn state and national attention. 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.
This story was edited by Natalie Armour.
