Reports from other media outlets that James B. Duke Professor Jerry Hough was recently placed on leave after posting a controversial comment on a New York Times editorial are incorrect, confirmed Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations, in an email early Monday morning.
"Professor Hough is currently on a long-planned academic leave that started well before this issue came up," he wrote.
Slate reported Sunday afternoon that Hough had been placed on leave in the wake of last week's controversy, basing its report on articles Saturday by local ABC and Fox affiliates.
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In an email to The Chronicle Friday night, Hough noted that he was on leave and that at 80 years old, 2016 will be his last year teaching at Duke.
His comment on an editorial about how racism led to Baltimore riots sparked by Freddie Gray's death cited his experience as a political science professor at Duke for 42 years in claiming that Asian Americans "didn't feel sorry for themselves, but worked doubly hard" to integrate effectively into American society. Much of the controversy that followed came because Hough wrote about "the blacks," who "feel sorry for themselves" because of similar editorials and have a "lack of desire for integration." The full comment can be seen here.
Jack Knight, chair of the Political Science Department and Frederick Cleaveland Professor of Law, also confirmed via email Monday morning that "Professor Hough was granted leave for the 2014-2015 academic year in accordance with standard leave policy for all faculty."
Check back for updates on this developing story.
Update: This article was updated to reflect in the headline that Hough took academic leave rather than being placed on academic leave by the University.
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