In 2018, URI recruited and hired Dr. Gifty Ako-Adounvo, as Vice Provost for Global Initiatives and Senior International Officer.
asserted
URI → recruit → Initiatives
Dr. Ako-Adounvo asked for URI's help to locate employment for Fosu, her domestic partner, and when no outside employment options were found, URI appointed him as a visiting professor for the 2019 spring semester.
asserted
URI → ask → semester
URI appointed Fosu to a faculty of practice to teach in the Political Science Department for the 2019-2020 academic year.
asserted
URI → appoint → year
Fosu did not have the academic qualifications to teach core curriculum classes in the Political Science Department.
asserted
Fosu → have → Department
The Chair of the Political Science Department, Professor Marc Hutchison, decided that Fosu could teach elective courses as a faculty of practice.
uncertain
Fosu → decide → practice
Fosu was to teach a course on the Supreme Court and constitutional law, and he also proposed a course on advocacy, which was approved.
asserted
which → teach → advocacy
During the 2019-2020 academic year, Fosu taught elective undergraduate courses on constitutional law and advocacy and a graduate course…
asserted
Fosu → teach → law
.
[2.] The court discussed various bases for Fosu's appointment not being renewed; here's an excerpt of that, though there were other things happening as well.
asserted
excerpt → discuss → that
Note that, "[b]ecause Fosu has not responded to defendants' motion [for summary judgment]," the court "accept[ed] as uncontested defendants' recitation of the material facts":
asserted
court → note → facts
On October 26, 2020, Fosu sent an email titled "Declaration of Diversity" to URI President Dooley, along with many others including members of the URI faculty and staff, URI students, law enforcement officials, and government officials.
asserted
Fosu → send → faculty
Fosu again targeted the Chief Diversity Officer, Mary Almandrez, and criticized the hiring process involving Dr. Sylvia Spears and Dr. Harry Alston.
asserted
Fosu → target → Spears
He accused the URI faculty and staff of racism, collusion, unethical conduct, and violations of the law.
asserted
He → accuse → law
The email included a boxed warning that "all parties mentioned in this letter and involved in the Dr. Harry Alston and Dr. Sylvia Spears interview process must not shred or destroy any documents, must not delete any emails or electronic messages from November 1, 2019 to present."
asserted
parties → include → present
Fosu also asserted that he and others invoked their Fourth Amendment rights.
asserted
he → assert → rights
In the email, Fosu notified President Dooley that Fosu's private corporation, Diversity Think Tank, was "headquartered" at URI and that it was the corporation's goal "to directly target and expose URI's indefensible and offensively prejudicial and discriminatory policies and the people who perpetuate intentional racism and normalized racist inequities through the machinations of white supremacy."
asserted
who → notify → supremacy
…
[Fosu attached a] "Declaration of Diversity" that purported to be issued by "organized URI students."
asserted
that → attach → students
The Declaration began with a statement that "We as organized URI student, hold these facts to be self-evident, that there is a deliberate and racist dehumanizing exclusion of highly qualified African-Americans/Blacks, Latinos/Hispanics and Native Americans from positions of senior leadership and other positions throughout the university, including Administrative Staff, Deans, Department Chairs, Faculty, Functional Staff and Students."
asserted
facts → begin → Staff
The Declaration included 46 "complaints and demands," one of which said:
We students will create a White-list of all those white professors who define and list themselves as diversity initiative conveners, race experts and researchers while they are silent and benefit from white supremacy and racism at URI, self-evident by the fact that no African-American with an ancestry to slavery and no Latino has been hired to a senior leadership position since 1892—and NOT ONE WHITE FACULTY member has expressed a problem with that fact, and the glaring fact that there are NO BLACK FACULTY members in the Criminal Justice Department and only a couple at the Harrington School.
asserted
member → include → School
You white professors do not need research to find out about systemic racism at URI—you are part and parcel of the creation and maintenance of systemic racism at URI though your self-serving policies, unapologetic excuses, discriminatory behavior and your hegemonic culture of impunity.
asserted
you → need → impunity
You should be ashamed of yourselves and we will help end this metastasized disease of racism.
asserted
we → help → racism
Your panel discussions about diversity and ethics should be our panel discussions about diversity and ethics, and we pick who should be on these panels.
asserted
who → pick → panels
The Declaration was signed by four URI students who were identified as Diversity Think Tank trustees, non-student trustees of Diversity Think Tank, and Fosu."
asserted
who → sign → Tank
This unsurprisingly led to tensions with other faculty members:
asserted
This → lead → members
Several of the faculty expressed concern to the department chair, Professor Hutchison, about the email and the Declaration of Diversity…..
asserted
Several → express → Diversity
[Also, during a] Political Science Department[] meeting[,] … Fosu talked over other faculty and talked about bringing in his army of lawyers.
asserted
Fosu → talk → lawyers
The faculty felt that if they disagreed with Fosu, he labeled them racist….
asserted
he → feel → them
[In a follow-up e-mail, he] criticized his treatment during the meeting and asserted that the faculty had to stand against racism or they supported racism.
asserted
they → criticize → racism
He also called out individual faculty members to refute [perhaps meaning "recant"? -EV] their positions during the department meeting.
asserted
He → call → meeting
To one female faculty member, Fosu wrote:
[R]acism and discrimination are not complex or complicated matters to understand as you mentioned and implied in your job candidate example….
asserted
you → write → example
Maybe you should reflect and recognize that the highly qualified Black person who interviewed as your search committee's first choice, likely declined the job because s/he wanted to avoid a perceived impending racial conflict and marginalization after encountering the reality of our intensely all-white environment….
asserted
he → reflect → environment
Step out of your personal defensive mode nurtured naturally by white privilege and empathize with Black candidates who walk on this campus….
asserted
who → step → campus
I experienced that subtle disrespect and suspicious questioning during our meeting on Friday.
asserted
I → experience → Friday
In response to another faculty member's discussion during the meeting, Fosu wrote: "The main beneficiaries of Affirmative Action have been White women—not Black men and not Black women—cultural hegemony has been very successful at falsely convincing us that Blacks predominately benefit from Affirmative Action."
asserted
Blacks → write → Action
Fosu further wrote that "[w]hat I was discussing with [a male faculty member] on a deeper level before I was interrupted by [the female faculty member] is that we cannot rely on an institution that has been systemically racist for 128 years to produce progressive policies that advance racial equity."
asserted
that → write → equity
Hutchison testified in his deposition that Fosu's email caused distress in the department.
asserted
email → testify → department
Faculty were concerned that they would be publicly accused of being racist if they taught about race issues in class.
asserted
they → concern → class
Other faculty told Hutchison that the department could not talk with Fosu because he would not hear any point of view except his own.
uncertain
he → tell → own
The targeted female faculty member told Hutchison that Fosu was creating a hostile work environment and bullying female colleagues….
[3.] There were also several student complaints; the court goes through the details, but here's one sample:
asserted
sample → target → details
Vice President of Student Affairs Kathy Collins … summarized [one] student's report, as follows:
- Declaration for Diversity was pre-written by Mr. Fosu and taken to class in September, 2020.
asserted
Declaration → summarize → September
Students were able to do edits and provide comments in a google doc.
asserted
Students → do → doc
…and 36 more, not listed.
The Aporia
