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School of Nursing lecturer Darah Wilson rehired following students’ petition

Darah Wilson, a lecturer at the School of Nursing, was reinstated to her position after students and colleagues signed a petition to keep her at UCLA. Students expressed appreciation for the ability and perspective Wilson brings to her teaching. (Courtesy of Darah Wilson)

By Abigail Siatkowski

July 15, 2021 5:21 p.m.

Correction: The original version of this article incorrectly stated that professors can become continuing lecturers after teaching for 18 consecutive quarters. In fact, lecturers can become continuing lecturers after teaching for 18 consecutive quarters.

This post was updated July 18 at 8:43 p.m.

Darah Wilson, a lecturer in the School of Nursing, was fired and subsequently rehired in June after students petitioned against the university’s decision.

Wilson learned June 7 in a meeting with the incoming and outgoing associate deans of academic affairs that her teaching contract would not be renewed for the 2021-2022 school year. They told her that “their needs had changed,” Wilson said.

Immediately after the meeting, Wilson contacted her representative in the University Council-American Federation of Teachers, and the union created a petition advocating for her to be rehired. Wilson’s students spread the petition on social media and sent individual emails to the dean of the School of Nursing calling for her reinstatement, she said.

By the end of the week, Wilson received a call informing her she would be granted her position back.

Wilson believes her initial termination was due to her active presence in UC-AFT, as she has always received positive teaching evaluations from students.

“Certainly, my belief is that I was retaliated against for my union activity,” she said.

As a member of UC-AFT, Wilson helped ensure UCLA nursing lecturers are paid for the work they do outside of teaching, such as reviewing applications to the school, she said. She also filed several grievances and engaged in meetings with School of Nursing administrators and labor relations over the last couple of years.

The School of Nursing declined to comment, stating they do not discuss personnel matters.

According to John Branstetter, the president of the UCLA chapter of UC-AFT, lecturers are typically contracted to teach certain courses on a yearly or quarterly basis and are never guaranteed to get their classes back.

After teaching for 18 consecutive quarters, lecturers become continuing lecturers, and the university is required to offer their courses back to them before searching for new teaching faculty. But the university usually chooses to terminate lecturers before they achieve continuing status to offer jobs to newly minted graduates of doctoral programs, Branstetter said.

“It’s a system that privileges inexperience, and the more experienced you are, the more likely you are to get fired,” Branstetter said.

Wilson has been teaching at the School of Nursing for four years, she said.

When students learned of Wilson’s firing, they were confused.

It was shocking at first to hear that Wilson had been fired, said Jasmine Alberto, a graduate student in the School of Nursing. She found it surprising that one of the best nursing schools in the country would let such a strong teacher go, she said.

The petition to reinstate Wilson gained nearly 1,000 signatures in the first 24 hours it was online, Wilson said.

Students wanted her to stay at UCLA for several reasons, often citing her strong ability as an instructor and the perspective and connection she provided.

Jennifer Sharpe, a fourth-year nursing student, said Wilson supported her through a particularly difficult year in her education.

Before her father passed away in April, Sharpe said, she was traveling with him as his nurse. During those months, she did not want to take a leave of absence from her education. Wilson was crucial in securing the accommodations Sharpe needed in order to continue her schoolwork while helping her family, Sharpe said.

“The amount of loss that I had in this last year is incredible,” Sharpe said. “And I just don’t think that I would have been able to do it without (Wilson).”

Students also highlighted how Wilson has brought social issues into nursing.

Joseph Grotts, a graduate student in the School of Nursing, said Wilson held discussions with students on how to be aware of implicit biases they may hold. One such bias, Grotts said, was against patients with liver failure, which is often associated with alcoholism.

Francis Villaruz, another graduate student in the School of Nursing, said Wilson apologized for the lack of diversity in medical images available online when presenting her slides during lecture.

Villaruz did not expect to have such conversations in the field of nursing, he said, and believes Wilson is one of the few nursing professors who really engages her students with social justice.

“Being mindful to these identities is so important and, again, why I really appreciated her,” he said.

Despite praise from students, Wilson remains wary of the situation and the low retention rates of lecturers on the whole.

“There’s no reason I can’t face this again next year,” she said.

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Abigail Siatkowski | Managing editor
Siatkowski is the 2023-2024 managing editor. She was previously the 2022-2023 PRIME director, the 2021-2022 PRIME content editor and a contributor for the Arts, News, Sports and Outreach sections. She is also a fourth-year communication student with a minor in information and media literacy.
Siatkowski is the 2023-2024 managing editor. She was previously the 2022-2023 PRIME director, the 2021-2022 PRIME content editor and a contributor for the Arts, News, Sports and Outreach sections. She is also a fourth-year communication student with a minor in information and media literacy.
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