Faculty Member Files Racial Complaint Against Northwestern Oklahoma State University

Filed in Campus Racial Incidents on March 21, 2014

Carlos J. Minor, an assistant professor of education at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, has filed a racial discrimination complaint with the Higher Education Learning Commission, the regional accrediting association, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Dr. Minor states that he had been assigned to teach a course load that is double that of many of his colleagues. He also asserts that his department chair treated him in a racist manner and he was subjected to retaliation when he voiced his objections to the way he was being treated. This semester, Dr. Minor has been “reassigned” and is not teaching any classes on campus. He is not listed in the university’s faculty directory. His campus email account was made inoperative. Yet, his image remains on the education department’s web page.

In addition to his personal grievances, Dr. Minor’s complaint discusses several racial incidents which have occurred on campus that have produced a climate where many Black students and faculty feel unwelcome. According to the latest Department of Education data, Black students make up 9 percent of the 2,000-member undergraduate student body at the university.

Dr. Minor joined the faculty at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in 2012. For the previous nine years, Dr. Minor has served as a guidance counselor and athletic coach at a K-12 school in the Atlanta metropolitan area.

Dr. Minor is a graduate of Xavier University. He holds a master’s degree and an educational doctorate from Clark Atlanta University.

Related: Northwestern Oklahoma State University