Regarding “An Open Letter to the Emory University Community: In an Emory Law community letter the day following this incident, the president, provost and I stated that the use of this—or any racial slur—in our community is unacceptable. Moreover, Professor Zwier also acknowledged that the use of the word is unacceptable in his letter of apology to the Emory Law community.

There were ramifications in response to this incident. After extensive discussions with members of the Emory community, including the students and professor affected by the incident and with clergy and legal representatives in the greater Atlanta community, I outlined multiple steps that Professor Zwier agreed to take in order to help begin the healing process for the Emory Law community. These steps include: not teaching any course, for the next two years, in which students do not have the ability to choose their professor; engaging in dialogues focused on racial sensitivity; revising teaching manuals to provide appropriate ways to cover racially sensitive materials; and participating in sensitivity and unconscious bias training.

I spoke with Mr. Arrington by phone on September 20, and have invited him to meet in person to discuss his concerns.

Here are links to my letter and Professor Zwier's message of apology to the law school community sent on September 18.

James B. Hughes Jr.

Interim Dean

Emory University School of Law

Atlanta