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When any employer revokes a job offer, that it already gave a job candidate and the job candidate accepts, it’s grounds for serious questioning of the decision. When it happens to be Marquette University, the Roman Catholic university and the largest in Wisconsin, which did just that to Seattle University professor Jodi O’Brien, it’s grounds for serious questioning whether O’Brien being a lesbian had anything to do with it.
ABSOLUTELY NOT!, screams the university’s mouthpiece. Students, rallying in support of O’Brien, disagree.
So why dump O’Brien — selected to become dean of the College of Arts and Sciences — after offering her the job? Because of a “flawed” candidate selection process, the school says, that evidently overlooked not just O’Brien’s sexuality, but also her writings about gay marriage and sex.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Which indicates O’Brien is not the one with qualification issues; that honor falls to the stupid board of regents or whoever managed to so badly screw up and pick a dyke to be a dean at a Catholic school.
S
I’m glad to learn she has tenure at Seattle, although that doesn’t mean anything if a school is determined enough to let you go.
This is NOT news, folks. Things like this have been going on for years (I am INTIMATELY familiar with one example).
Since O’Brien had already accepted the job, she might have a viable breach of contract action (should she choose to pursue it). But non discrimination laws ALWAYS exempt religious institutions.
As I stated, I’ve seen similar and worse things. As for the “protests”, I don’t doubt that they are heartfelt. However, many in the RCC hierarchy don’t care a lot about what people think or say.
They MIGHT notice if enough people walked away. Not that I expect any to, but it would be interesting to see how many students were sufficiently “outraged” to transfer elsewhere.