After setting a mask mandate in his class, University of Northern Iowa biology professor Steven O’Kane was removed from the classroom and forced to continue teaching his class online for the rest of the semester.
The professor told students they wouldn’t receive lab points for that day if they came to class without a mask, which violated the guidelines set by the Iowa Board of Regents “prohibit[ing] all public universities from requiring masks or vaccinations on campus,” according to local news station WOI-DT.
O’Kane told the Ames-based outlet that this is “not a battle of me wrestling with the UNI administration. The president, the provost, the dean, my faculty chair, could not be better people. They simply are lovely, lovely people whose hands are tied.”
If given the opportunity to teach in person again, he’d continue mandating masks, O’Kane added in an interview with The Gazette.
Alexandra Wimley/AP
“The answer is yes,” he said. “I’ll stick with the mask requirement.”
O’Kane, who has been with the university for 26 years, expressed that doing so would not jeopardize his career path, saying “I’m just one, two, three years from retirement. If I were to be terminated, this would not ruin my life. I told the provost…most of us somewhere in our lives have a hill they’re willing to die on—And this is one of my hills.”
The University of Northern Iowa told Newsweek in a statement that the college is “deeply committed to the health and safety of our campus community,” and that students and staff are “encouraged” to get vaccinated and wear masks indoors. However, they cannot force anyone to do so.
“Under Board of Regents directives, neither the university nor faculty can mandate that masks be worn on campus, including in classrooms. (An exception to this is in limited spaces where masks are required, such as a healthcare operation, setting or service.) UNI has processes in place to address violations of university and Board of Regents policy,” the statement said.
“After an internal review of actions by a single faculty member, the university has taken appropriate measures to uphold compliance with those policies on campus,” they added.
