The DePaulia
DePaul’s Faculty Council elected a new board of officers at the final meeting of the academic year to serve for the next year, with Sonia Soltero becoming the first female president of color to hold the position.
“I was always interested in shared governance and faculty rights being at the table when decisions are made,” Soltero told The DePaulia in an interview. “…When I came to the university, it was just a natural fit for me to be involved. So that’s why […] it’s felt like a natural fit to go into the president position.”
Soltero, the chair of the department of Leadership, Language and Curriculum in the College of Education, previously served as vice president for the past two years and was elected as president in a 21-10 vote against incumbent president Scott Paeth.
February 11, 2021
In early 2019, DePaul professors Valerie Johnson and Quinetta Shelby began questioning the language and purpose of a clause in the universityâs Faculty Handbook that states âa pattern of extreme intimidation and aggression towards other members of the university committeeâ can be grounds for faculty dismissal or other repercussions.Â
The language, they argued to a faculty committee recently, provides no objective criteria for violation, leaving it ripe for abuse â particularly toward faculty of color, who are often accused of being threatening or aggressive if they are outspoken.
âIt feels like a veiled threat toward faculty of colorâ if we perceive you as aggressive, then you may stand to lose your job,â Johnson told The DePaulia, as the perception of both intimidation and aggression is widely subjective.Â