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Nancy Shurtz (Law professor)

Nancy Shurtz (Law professor)

Nancy Shurtz is a law professor at University of Oregon who dressed up as Damon Tweedy M.D. in a 2016 Blackface and Afro wig Halloween costume. She has been teaching at the University of Oregon since 1982.

Background

She held a teaching assistant position at Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania before joining the faculty at University of Oregon. She has been there since 1982.

Her interests include individual and business tax law, tax policy, environmental policy, and women and the law.

She is editor for the Media/Book Products Committee of the American Bar Association's Real Property, Probate, and Trust Section.

Shurtz has been a literature reviewer and columnist for Estate Planning magazine since 1990.

She consulted with Mills College (California) about the formation of an all women's law school after her article on the subject came out in 2005 in The Hastings Women's Law Review.

BlackFace Incident

On the day of Halloween 2016, Nancy dressed up in blackface portraying a Dr. Damon Tweedy in a lab coat.

A photograph of Nancy was snapped and began circulating the next day around the internet drawing outrage from many students and faculty members.

Michael Schill, president of the University, sent a campus-wide email condemning the actions by professor as deeply disturbing.

23 Members of the law school department signed a letter asking Nancy to resign.

Nancy has explained her actions and sent a letter to her students withher reasoning for trying to dress up as a black person for Halloween.

She claims she was inspired by a book called Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine , which is an autobiography written by Damon Tweedy M.D. She writes in the letter: "I am sorry if it did not come off well. I, of all people, would not want to offend"

She has been suspended on paid administrative leave as the university investigates the situation.

In a letter she wrote to her students she said in part: "'I chose my costume based on a book that I read and liked—Black Man in a White Coat.

I thought I would be able to teach with this costume as well (or at least tell an interesting story).

" She described the book's autobiographical account of a medical student being mistaken for a janitor and of her daughter's medical school class having no black students in it.

Her use of blackface and an afro wstands out as very strange given all the photos of Dr. Tweedy with very short hair and brown rather than shoe polish black skin color.

Was she trying to be provocative to make some kind of point?

References

[1]
Citation Linkwsj.comArticle she wrote about Turbo taxfor the Wall Street Journal.
Nov 3, 2016, 5:33 PM
[2]
Citation Linkdailymail.co.ukDaily Mailarticle about the professor's decision to do blackface.
Nov 3, 2016, 4:56 PM
[3]
Citation Linkkezi.comArticle about the professor's blackface incident.
Nov 3, 2016, 4:58 PM
[4]
Citation Linkregisterguard.comArticle written about the professor before she was identified.
Nov 3, 2016, 4:58 PM
[5]
Citation Linklaw.uoregon.eduProfile of Nancy Shurtz on the University of Oregon website.
Nov 3, 2016, 5:14 PM
[6]
Citation Linklaw.uoregon.eduThis is the CV of Professor Shurtz.
Nov 3, 2016, 5:26 PM
[7]
Citation Linkywqaugeunhowzrcj.public.blob.vercel-storage.comUniversity of Oregon [1]
Nov 3, 2016, 5:34 PM
[8]
Citation Linkywqaugeunhowzrcj.public.blob.vercel-storage.comLetter of petition.[1]
Nov 3, 2016, 5:35 PM
[9]
Citation Linkywqaugeunhowzrcj.public.blob.vercel-storage.comPhotograph snapped of Nancy in Blackface during a Halloween party.[1]
Nov 3, 2016, 5:36 PM
[10]
Citation Linkywqaugeunhowzrcj.public.blob.vercel-storage.com[3]
Nov 3, 2016, 5:44 PM