There is still no official confirmation from George Washington University that history professor Jessica Krug is the author of a much-discussed Medium post that is attributed to her. “We are aware of the posts and are looking into the situation,” said a GW spokesperson in response to queries today from Washingtonian. “We cannot comment further on personnel matters.”
The author of the post confesses to having long posed as a Black woman when in fact she is white. “I am not a culture vulture,” she writes. “I am a culture leech.”
GW’s student newspaper, the Hatchet, is now reporting that Krug will not be teaching the classes that she had been scheduled to teach for this fall. The Hatchet quotes from an email that it reports was sent to students in Krug’s classes by history department chair Daniel Schwartz:
“I want to assure you that we are aware of yesterday’s shocking news concerning your teacher this semester, Prof. Jessica Krug. I know that many of you are deeply shaken and angered by Prof. Krug’s confession and questioning whether you can remain in her class. While I am unable to offer you any specifics at this time, we are working to see if the classes can continue this semester without Prof. Krug as the instructor.”
So far, Krug has not confirmed or denied that she is the author of the Medium post.
Assuming she did write it, what does that mean for her continued employment at GW? It’s not clear if she has tenure, but even if she does, the school could probably let her go. According to the school’s Faculty Code, tenured professors can be terminated for “adequate cause”:
Adequate cause shall mean unfitness to perform academic duties because of: a) incompetence; b) lack of scholarly integrity; c) persistent neglect of professional responsibilities under this Code; or d) gross personal misconduct that destroys academic usefulness.
Daniella Byck joined Washingtonian in 2022. She was previously with Outside Magazine and lives in Northeast DC.
