Associate Dean of the Peabody College of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Nicole Joseph and Assistant Dean Hasina Mohyuddin returned to their roles on April 11, per an email from Dean of Peabody College Camilla Benbow.
On Feb. 18, Joseph and Mohyuddin “stepped back” from their roles for sending an email from their office two days prior in response to the Michigan State University shooting, which killed three students and injured five others. The Feb. 16 email about the MSU shooting encouraged the community to “honor the victims of this tragedy” and featured an ending note stating that it had been written using ChatGPT. The email was signed by Joseph, Mohyuddin and Graduate Assistant Chenxi Zhu.
Benbow explained via a Feb. 18 email how email hadn’t undergone the normal screening and they were unaware and that her office would be conducting a review of what led to the EDI office’s use of ChatGPT.
“As a rule, Vanderbilt does not discuss the details of employment matters to protect the privacy of the individuals involved, but I am confident that we have addressed the issues that led to their temporarily stepping back,” Benbow wrote in the email announcing Joseph and Mohyuddin’s reinstatement. “I look forward to continuing to enhance the EDI work of the college under their leadership.”
Sophomore and Peabody student Samuel Lu said he hopes the administration will use this situation as an opportunity to improve and “better serve the students of Peabody.”
“While I obviously think that the original email was a careless mistake, it’s also important that this becomes a moment of growth for Peabody,” Lu said in a message to The Hustler. “The parties responsible were appropriately punished and I personally don’t think that any further suspension would serve a purpose.”
Joseph and Mohyuddin declined The Hustler’s request for comment. Joseph had previously sent an apology to the Peabody community on Feb.17 in which she acknowledged the use of ChatGPT as a mistake.
“While we believe in the message of inclusivity expressed in the email, using ChatGPT to generate communications on behalf of our community in a time of sorrow and in response to a tragedy contradicts the values that characterize Peabody College,” Joseph wrote.
