Professors' appeals for tenure denied

Seven professors at DePaul received an email last Friday from President Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider that announced that their appeals to overturn denials of tenure were not approved. Amongst these seven was Professor Melissa Bradshaw, assistant professor in the Women's and Gender Studies program, whose supporters have orchestrated three protests on her behalf since May when she was first denied tenure.

"I don't have regrets about my choice of career, and I don't have regrets about being part of DePaul because I think it's been a beautiful place to be," said Bradshaw.

33 professors were up for tenure this year, out of the seven that were denied for tenure, five of them were women. 18 male professors were candidates for tenure and 16 were approved.


The appeal process was conducted by a Review Board of three tenured faculty members from departments other than the professor applying for promotion/tenure. However, according to Chicago Tribune, the women's appeals were heard by separate faculty boards where two faculty boards concluded that the appeal process was flawed and that they had been wrongfully denied tenure.

After the announcement was made, a protest was held on Thursday for students to voice their disagreement with the final decision.

Junior Taylor O'Brien is a supporter of Bradshaw but could not attend the protest since she is currently studying abroad in Madrid. "Dr. Bradshaw is one of the most amazing professors I've had at DePaul. I am a type A person who excels at Political Science and Math and she made the interdisciplinary arts fun and accessible for me," said O'Brien. "I learned more in that class than I ever thought I was going to and it was completely due to her enthusiasm for the subject matter and passion for helping students. She is an asset to more than just the Women's Studies or LGBTQ department; she is an asset to the University."

"Even though we didn't get the outcome we wanted, this wasn't in vain. That who they [the students] are for the rest of their lives for having fought for something they believed in.that's valuable and that's what matters," said Bradshaw.

Bradshaw urged her students to continue to question authority at times when no one does. "I try to teach my students that they should always be asking questions," said Bradshaw. "I can't tell them everything will always work out okay.that's not the point of fighting for a cause or being an activist, the point is having fought."

After fall quarter ends, Bradshaw will not be returning. "As I leave DePaul I'll take with me this incredible outpouring of support and affection from my students and colleagues," said Bradshaw. "It helps me understand that I had an impact here and that this part of my life was worth it.