Professor Watchlist

Abby M. Schrader is a Professor of History and the Department Chair of History at Franklin & Marshall College. Her university profile states that she specializes in Russian literature. Additionally, she writes: 

“At F&M, my teaching reflects my interests in Russian/Soviet and 18th- and 19th-century European history. I incorporate issues related to culture (including literary and visual culture), gender and sexuality, politics broadly conceived, and social trends in all of my courses.”  

Schrader was one of 125 Franklin & Marshall faculty members who jointly signed a letter to “denounce the [university’s] choice to invite transphobic speaker Paula Scanlan to our campus on March 27, in close proximity to Transgender Day of Visibility.”

Paula Scanlan was a teammate of “transgender” swimmer Lia Thomas, previously William Thomas, who swam on the women’s team at the University of Pennsylvania. Scanlan has expressed that she was uncomfortable with Thomas being a member of the team due to his gender and felt her female teammates were overlooked in favor of Thomas’s greater strength and athleticism. 

Scanlan embarked on a lecture tour in partnership with Young America’s Foundation during the Spring 2024 semester to discuss her college swim experience at universities across the country. Her lecture was titled “Biological Men Should Not Compete in Women’s Sports.”

The faculty who wrote the letter state that Scanlan “is working with a well-funded, far-right ‘culture war’ machine that seeks to sow division, provoke backlash, generate publicity, and weaken public confidence in higher education.”

The writers further claim that Scanlan is “transphobic” because of her statements about Thomas. They say Scanlan has “refused to acknowledge the identity of the trans community:” 

“In videos of her campus visits available online, we have seen Scanlan disrespect, misgender, and mock trans people. Scanlan also has a history of (a) invoking the unsubstantiated idea that the presence of transgender women creates a threat of sexual violence to cisgender women, and (b) making direct reference to the physical appearance of Lia Thomas’s genitalia.”

Towards the end of their letter, the professors state their supposed commitment to free speech, no matter how disagreeable that speech may be to them. Yet, they are against the university inviting “speakers to campus whose demonstrated aim is to demean, devalue, and threaten the lives of our friends, family, and community members.” 

They conclude the letter with the following statements in affirmation of the “transgender community:”

“We believe that our role as a college community must include speaking out against such dehumanization. To the queer, trans, and nonbinary members of our community: you have allies on this campus who value and support you. We are committed to fighting alongside you. To President Altmann and the F&M administration: we call on you to make a strong, unequivocal statement of care and support on behalf of all of our LGBTQ+ students, colleagues, and community members.”

Please send information on Abby M. Schrader to Watchlists@tpusa.com.

Published – April 5, 2024