In Wake of Protests at Other Ivy League Schools, Penn Drops “Faculty Master” Title

The heads of Penn's college houses (what the school calls its dorms) will now be called faculty directors.

The heads of Penn’s dorms are no longer called “faculty masters.”

Penn has changed the title to “faculty director.” The Daily Pennsylvanian reports it came after protests at other Ivy League schools cited the term as evocative of slavery.

(Penn’s dorms aren’t even called dorms; they are called “college houses.” Eh. It’s an Ivy League school, go figure.)

“The faculty and staff of [College Houses and Academic Services] have been mindful of ongoing developments on campuses across the country. These include concerns about the historical connotations of the title of ‘Faculty Master,’” College of Arts and Sciences Dean Dennis DeTurck wrote in an email to college house faculty. “This small but important step will be taken immediately, and over the next few weeks all references in college house literature and on CHAS websites will be amended to reflect it.”

DeTurck also told the DP that there was “strong, unanimous support among the faculty directors” to make the change.

Two of Penn’s 11 faculty directors are black. Penn also has the W.E.B. DuBois College House, a dorm that “provides an environment that embraces African American scholarship and culture.”

Harvard and Princeton have already eliminated the title, while Yale is considering it and will make a decision by the summer instead of just changing it for some reason. Eh. It’s an Ivy League school, go figure.

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