Dr. Carol Swain announced that she will not be returning for the 2017-18 academic year, retiring from her position as a political science and law professor at Vanderbilt. Swain announced this retirement on her blog, “Be the People,” on Jan. 23.

“Retirement for me will not mean a rocking chair,” Swain wrote in her blog post. “It will be an opportunity for me to impact more people across the globe. I am confident God will place me where I can have the greatest impact. What will I do next? I anticipate spending my time writing, speaking, and making myself available for my next assignment. Of course, I will miss the students and the rhythm of campus, but I will not miss what American universities have allowed themselves to become.”

Swain, a notable African-American conservative, has been a professor at Vanderbilt for 17 years (since 1999), and has written/edited six books. Swain’s controversial stances on race relations and Islam have attracted national media attention on several occasions. Last year, one of Swain’s remarks on race relations sparked a petition to circulate demanding her resignation due to her “discriminatory practices” in the classroom, and her “bigotry, intolerance, and unprofessionalism.” She previously taught at Princeton University.