CSUN Defends Hiring White Teacher for Pan-African Studies

A white instructor at Cal State Northridge whose hiring in the Pan-African Studies Department sparked a protest by some black students will remain because she was properly hired and is qualified for the job, President Blenda J. Wilson said.

“There are no--and have never been--racial, ethnic or gender requirements for hiring,” said Wilson, who is black, in her first direct comment on the controversy. “We are listening to our students. We just don’t agree with their conclusion,” Wilson said.

Last week, 50 to 100 students organized by CSUN’s Black Student Union marched on campus to call for the replacement of Katherine Komis as a part-time teacher for two basic skills courses in the Pan-African Studies Department. She is its only non-black instructor.

This week, however, the scene was considerably quieter on campus as Komis continued with her ethnically mixed classes free of disruption.

“I’m going to keep teaching, just keep teaching,” Komis said, adding she had expected attention but had no idea her hiring would spark the protest.

The dispute mirrors similar episodes at several other U.S. universities in the past year. But it also is the latest manifestation of unhappiness among black students and faculty at CSUN, who say the university has been neglecting their needs.

“I think the students are really concerned about the lack of African Americans as faculty role models and in the administration. And I think that’s a legitimate complaint,” said Selase Williams, the past head of CSUN’s black studies department and now a dean at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

CSUN officials emphasized that Komis was hired over the summer during Williams’ final weeks as department chairman because she was rated and ranked above other candidates for part-time positions, including some blacks, by Williams and another black faculty member in the department.