Peace studies professor placed on administrative leave for fall semester

Rozell Nesbitt, who was originally scheduled to teach an FFC class on anti-racism, was put on leave Aug. 29 for reasons administration refuse to disclose. Photo by EMILY PARIS, photo editor

Students in a First-Year Foundations (FFC) course taught by Chapman University peace studies professor Rozell Nesbitt learned from an Aug. 28 email that he would not be teaching the course for the fall semester. English professor Kent Lehnhof notified the students in the email that he would be the instructor instead.

According to Jennifer Keene, the dean of Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Nesbitt has been placed on administrative leave by the university effective Aug. 29. 

Administration refused to reveal the exact reason as to why he has been placed on leave after inquiries from The Panther, saying personnel matters cannot be legally discussed.

Samantha Nguyen, a freshman majoring in business administration, decided to enroll in Nesbitt’s FFC course “Anti-Racism: A Continuous Journey” since she was interested in the course’s content, in which students look at racism in modern society.

Nguyen transferred out of the course after receiving the email from Lehnhof informing students of the instructor switch. He also wrote that he would be switching the course material to looking at racism in the context of Shakespearean drama, since Nesbitt’s area of expertise lay in the former while Lehnhof’s lay in the latter.

“(Nesbitt’s FFC course) would be one of the only FFCs that I was able to join that kind of fit my interests,” Nguyen told The Panther. “I heard good reviews (about Nesbitt), so I thought it would be a good course to take. But then, he last-minute canceled and couldn’t teach this semester and another professor took over teaching something I didn’t want to take.”

According to Lehnhof, many of the students who were originally enrolled in Nesbitt’s course dropped after receiving the email. As of now, there are 11 students enrolled, with no more than six being holdovers from Nesbitt’s course, Lehnhof said.

“It’s regrettable that Professor Nesbitt was unable to teach, and it’s regrettable that we could not find a substitute at the last minute with the expertise to teach the course that Nesbitt had proposed,” Lehnhof wrote in an email to The Panther. “But Professor Nesbitt is a pretty singular instructor. There aren’t many people in all of America who have his knowledge and experience, so we are doing the best we can with an unfortunate situation.”

This story was updated to more accurately reflect the fact that administration has refused to disclose any reasoning to The Panther explaining why Rozell Nesbitt was placed on administrative leave.

The Panther is actively investigating the reasoning behind Nesbitt’s placement on administrative leave. The Panther is in communication with students regarding Nesbitt’s conduct and will continue to publish information regarding the investigation as more information comes to light and more sources come forward.