A university professor has been suspended and deemed a "potential risk to colleagues" after using the n-word while on campus.
Peter Pormann, aged 54, was labelled a "potential risk to colleagues" after discussing dictionary definitions during an internal disciplinary hearing meeting where no students were present.
The University of Manchester is now examining whether his language constituted racist and inappropriate conduct.
The suspension represents an immediate challenge to the government's campus free speech regulations implemented in August.
These measures require universities to "actively promote academic freedom, ensuring campuses are places where robust discussion can take place without fear of censorship of students, staff or external speakers expressing lawful opinions".
The philologist maintains he referenced the Oxford English Dictionary's entry for the term whilst explaining how word meanings evolve over time.
The incident occurred during a meeting last month where academic and administrative staff had gathered to address allegations against another faculty member who had upset students by saying "b***h".
Whilst defending his colleague, Mr Pormann reportedly stated: "Words have context, and the word 'b***h' can have a positive meaning if you look at the Oxford English Dictionary."
He then referenced the racial slur, explaining that the same principle applied, before adding: "I am not saying that we should use these words, but I am a philologist: so words have contexts, situations have context."
Peter Pormann was suspended from the University of Manchester
|X
Thomas Schmidt, who heads the school of arts, languages and cultures, issued the suspension three weeks following the meeting whille an investigation proceeds.
The University of Manchester's free speech policy explicitly states that "such freedom must apply not only to information or ideas that are favourably received or uncontroversial, but also to those that offend, shock or disturb".
This institutional commitment appears to conflict with the professor's suspension, creating uncertainty about how universities should balance offensive language policies with academic discourse.
The new governmental regulations instruct higher education institutions to safeguard lawful expression on campus.
These measures emerged from concerns about censorship in academic settings.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
The word was said without any students present
|GOOGLE STREET VIEW
The timing proves significant, as Mr Pormann's case emerges merely three months after the rules took effect.
The suspension has caused concern amongst department staff, particularly given that a survey conducted this year revealed 89 per cent of 280 participants reported experiencing workplace bullying or harassment.
A colleague commented: "There is a problematic culture in the department and I fear Pormann has fallen victim to it.
"He was making an intellectual point, perhaps clumsily, but he is not a racist."
Faculty members highlight Mr Pormann's past anti-racism activism, including establishing a Youth Against Racism organisation during his youth in Hamburg and his work alongside Holocaust survivors in Israel.
The department encountered comparable issues in 2023 when students abandoned French classes, alleging instructors had used the same racial slur whilst teaching colonial history.
Dennis Hayes, who leads Academics for Academic Freedom (AFAF), argued that free speech "should be at the heart of everything a university does".
He stated: "An example like this shows that although the new free speech legislation has encouraged universities to have pages of codes and procedures, the spirit of free speech has gone.
"AFAF deals with many similar cases where internal, formal and informal, processes are used to harass and intimidate individuals because of their beliefs and opinions.
"We need to continue to fight on the ground to reinstate a culture of free speech."
The Oxford English Dictionary contains extensive documentation of the term, noting it is "liable to be considered offensive or taboo in almost all contexts".
The entry acknowledges varying connotations depending on speaker and context.
Just four months prior, Manchester celebrated Mr Pormann's achievement in securing £2.1 million from a European research centre to translate ancient medical manuscripts by Egyptian scholar Gesius.
GB News has approached the University of Manchester for comment.
More From GB News