Brown School faculty object to honorary degree for Schlafly
5/13/2008
By a vote of 30 to 0, with 2 abstentions, the faculty of the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University, express our dismay, displeasure and disappointment that the University would choose to honor Phyllis Schlafly with an honorary degree. Ms. Schlafly not only has a long history of speaking out against the rights of women in modern society, but her speeches and writings regularly mischaracterize domestic violence protections, social services for children, and vaccinations for children. She routinely disparages whole groups of people, such as American Indians, college professors and gays and lesbians. Universities are places where people are invited to voice opinions across the political spectrum. While we encourage dialogue on our campus that includes a wide variety of opinions, presenting an honorary doctorate to this particular person sends the wrong message to our current and graduating students, prospective students, staff and faculty about our expectations for thoughtful and informed discourse and the role of women at Washington University. For the good of the University, we encourage Chancellor Wrighton and Board of Trustees Chairman Kemper to rescind the offer of an honorary degree to Ms. Schlafly and to review the selection process that led to this embarrassing and counterproductive action.