A University of Virginia academic has resigned after controversial comments he made about “minor-attracted persons” surfaced, the school announced Wednesday.
The comments, which were first reported by The Daily Progress, were made by Daniel Pink, an associate professor in Old Dominion University’s department of psychology. Pink, who has been teaching at the school since 2011, taught a “science of persuasion” course and wrote a paper titled “Using classroom cross-gender role models to emphasize sexual equality at the workplace.”
The paper sparked some criticism from former students. Pink reportedly responded by saying: “I will grant that this statement that all the female minor-attracted persons in history were educated by men is not correct. I am aware of no women who excelled or even experienced difficulties in obtaining education in the seventeenth century because of their attraction to men, as a majority of these women did not experience sexual attraction.”
In the aftermath of the backlash, Old Dominion University released a statement, citing their “sincere concern for the community of ODU and for the pain caused to those who do not share these views,” according to The Roanoke Times.
“Daniel Pink has resigned,” the statement said. “We take seriously our responsibility to ensure that the positive contributions of our faculty are not marred by the offensive views expressed by Daniel Pink. He and the university parted ways amicably, and the university will make no further comment.”
Story by Erin Clare