A Fordham University professor has been fired after reportedly mixing up the names of two Black students in his class.
Christopher Trogan was a lecturer in the English Department before an incident led him to him being fired on October 25.
A month earlier on September 24, Trogan allegedly confused the names of two students when they showed up late to his class. The students told The Fordham Observer that they felt the mix-up was due to them both being Black.
In response, Trogan sent an email to the entire class claiming that he made a "simple, human error" that had "nothing to do with race."
He also called the mix-up an "innocent mistake" and explained that it had only occurred because he had a "confused brain" due to the students arriving in the middle of class.
However, one of the students involved said that their experience in Trogan's class prior to the incident had not been great and that he had repeatedly gotten their name wrong on a number of occasions.
"I felt really disrespected," they said. "I did not feel heard because every time he [misnamed me] I would tell him, and it just seemed like he would brush it off or that he did not care."
After the mix-up, Trogan sent an email to his students encouraging them to file formal complaints to the Dean of Fordham College, the English Department Chair, or other University administrators.
He also defended himself by describing how his class - Composition II - was centered on issues of justice, race, and equality that he had dedicated his "entire life" to.
Chantel Sims - the other student involved - said that she did not file a complaint, but found Trogan's long emails "excessive."
"All you needed to do was say sorry and it would have been fine," she said.
Sims also highlighted a section of Trogan's email in which he outlined everything he has done to help minorities as particularly problematic.
Two days after the incident Trogan was suspended from teaching by Eva Badowska, dean of the faculty of arts and science and associate vice president of arts and sciences.
Several weeks later his employment was officially terminated on October 25. The former professor claims that it was his emails to students rather than the incident itself which prompted the faculty to let Trogan go.
Chief steward of Fordham Faculty United Ashar Foley said that Trogan has not yet given up the fight and that he is considering taking legal action against the school.
