Two University of South Dakota faculty members, Megan Red Shirt-Shaw and her husband, John Little, have long included their gender pronouns and tribal affiliations in their work email signature blocks.
But both received written warnings from the university in March that doing so violated a policy adopted in December by the South Dakota Board of Regents.
“I was told that I had 5 days to remove my tribal affiliation and pronouns,” Little said in an email to The Associated Press.
Houghton University in western New York fired two dorm directors last year after they refused to remove gender pronouns from their work email signatures.
But some fear the South Dakota policy could signify a creep of such efforts into public colleges and universities.
Both she and Little have begun listing their tribal affiliation and pronouns in the body of their emails, which the university currently is allowing.
The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota said it has heard from faculty and students at the University of South Dakota who are concerned about the new policy. »
