University of Cincinnati adjunct professor Melanie Rose Nipper, who failed a student for using the term “biological women” on an essay, has been formally reprimanded by her department and ordered to attend a free speech training.
Additionally, the professor must submit all syllabi for the coming school year to her department head for approval, according to a document obtained by the Cincinnati Enquirer.
“Please note that this is to be considered a formal reprimand for your actions,” the June 14 document reads. “A copy of this letter will be placed in your permanent records.”
Ashley Currier, head of University of Cincinnati’s Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, reportedly issued the reprimand. Professor Nipper has since filed an appeal.
On Thursday, the professor attended an on-campus meeting to discuss her appeal request. Nipper told the Cincinnati Enquirer that the “culture war” stifles the ability of teachers to educate their students.
In May, the adjunct professor failed her student, Olivia Krolczyk, for using the term “biological women” on an essay proposal about transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
“I got a zero on a project proposal in my class, because I used the term, ‘biological women,’ which is apparently not allowed anymore,” Krolczyk said at the time.
Nipper responded by suggesting that she herself was the victim in the situation, not the student she failed for perfectly normal English.
In an interview with the Cincinnati Enquirer at the time, Nipper confirmed Krolczyk’s “sequence of events,” but claimed that the student was using “an outdated terminology,” and clarified that she gave Krolczyk “a zero for an assignment,” not a zero for the entire course.
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