Fordham Professor Fired After Mixing Up Names Of Two Black Students

Fordham University professor Christopher Trogan, 46, was fired after mixing up the names of two black students in his class, according to the report.

As a result of what Trogan described as an “innocent mistake,” the Fordham University lecturer sent a nine-page email to students in his Composition II classes, explaining the incident and defending his “entire life” of work on “issues of justice, equality, and inclusion,” according to the Fordham Observer, the campus newspaper.

Trogan’s email to the Fordham students said, “The offended student assumed my mistake was because I confused that student with another Black student. I have done my best to validate and reassure the offended student that I made a simple, human, error. It has nothing to do with race.”

Trogan blamed his “confused brain” for the contentious name mix-up that occurred when the two black students arrived late to class on Sept. 24, while the professor was concentrated on another classmate’s work at the lecturer podium.

Students claimed that Trogan’s exaggerated apology through email exacerbated the matter further.

“We were not actually that upset about him mixing up our names. It was more so the random things he would throw into the response”, said  Chantal Sims, a  student who was involved in the event.

In her statement to The Observer, Sims claimed she did not report Trogan to the administration because she believed many of the professor’s actions and messages were needless and “a little excessive,” adding, “a little excessive, like all you needed to do was say sorry and it would have been fine.”

The other first-year student who was involved in the name mix-up requested to remain anonymous owing to worries about their privacy, stated that Trogan made numerous mistakes with their name throughout four different classes.
The other first-year student who was involved in the name mix-up requested to remain anonymous owing to worries about their privacy, stated that Trogan made numerous mistakes with their name throughout four different classes.
Trogan received notification from the university two days later, on Sept. 26, from Eva Badowska, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences and associate vice president, arts and sciences, informing him that he had been placed on immediate suspension with pay and benefits and that the university was investigating his actions.

She gave him strict instructions not to communicate with any Fordham students, or he would be fired on the spot. As part of the suspension, he was denied access to Fordham University’s computer systems, which included the university’s email system.

Trogan was fired on October 25 after reports of racism in his English class surfaced, and the school is preparing for a possible private lawsuit, according to The Observer. The newspaper noted that the termination was effective immediately and that Trogan’s salary, health benefits, life insurance, and retirement fund were all terminated.

Trogan said this in an email to former students on Oct. 29 following his firing: “I was never informed of the charges against me, nor of the nature of the investigation of which I was the subject.  I was kept completely in the dark.”

A student in another section of Trogan’s Composition II class expressed disappointment with the way Fordham handled the firing of the “really great professor,” adding that she was “shocked” and “disappointed.”

“I was really shocked because it did not seem like that big of a deal to me,” she explained. “I did not think he did anything wrong.”

Stay tuned to The Scoop for any updates.