By Sara Russo

University of Southern Maine psychology professor John Broida, who faced the cancellation of two of his classes after he was accused of making racist and anti-homosexual remarks in videotapes for a distance learning class, has received a written letter of apology from the school's provost, Joseph Wood. He has also received an undisclosed financial settlement from the University.

The initial complaint against Broida was issued last winter by Rachel Morales, a student at the school and an employee in USM's Office of Campus Diversity and Equity. Morales claimed that she was offended by Broida's statement, "Do you know that on average blacks have a lower IQ than whites? Yes, have you noticed that? It's true."

Morales' complaint was instantly taken up in the highest levels of the university, a violation of USM's policy which details that a student who has a complaint about a professor must first bring her concerns to the chair of that professor's department. No new students were permitted to enroll in Broida's distance learning class, and his distance-learning courses that had been scheduled for the summer and fall of 2002 were summarily cancelled.

Wood also issued a statement to a local paper calling Broida's classroom comment, "a dumb, stupid, offensive statement" and repeated this in a memo sent to all USM faculty.

Many faculty members on campus were incensed at the University's response, and feared that it threatened academic freedom. "Academic freedom has been affected by how this issue has come up," commented Donald Anspach, co-president of USM's faculty union. "People are sensitized to diversity issues, but I think at the expense of academic freedom."

When interviewed by Campus Report this past August, Broida noted that he often makes controversial remarks in class in order to challenge his students to think for themselves. He also stated his belief that the University had blown the matter way out of proportion.

"If the student had come to me, we would have sat down, we would have figured it all out, and everything would have been kosher," he told Campus Report. "If I insulted her, I certainly would have apologized, and I would work to make sure that I don't make similar stupid mistakes."

As a result of the violation of protocol, Broida was never even able to ask the student why his remarks had offended her. "I can't tell. I have not talked to the student. I have been asked not to talk to the student," he told Campus Report.

Broida is pleased to finally have the matter settled, but he is upset that the University has not issued a public apology. "That's the thing that's missing for me: the public apology," he said.

Despite their apparent conciliation, USM officials continue to deny that their actions were unreasonable. According to Bob Caswell, a spokesperson for the University, the provost's apology should not be construed as indicating any wrongdoing or unfairness on the part of the University.