CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — University of Northern Iowa biology professor Steve O'Kane has been relieved from his in-person teaching duties for the rest of the semester after mandating masks be worn in the classroom.
O'Kane said he had been requiring masks in his classes to protect others. He incentivized mask-wearing by telling his students if they came to class without a mask, they wouldn't get any lab points for that day. However, this goes against guidelines from the Iowa Board of Regents which prohibit public universities from requiring masks or vaccinations.
"It's not a battle of me wrestling with the UNI administration," O'Kane said. "And I do want to say right up front that the president, the provost, the dean, my faculty chair could not be better people. They simply are lovely, lovely people whose hands are tied."
The university released the following statement in response:
"Under board of regents directives, neither the university nor faculty can mandate that masks be worn on campus, including in classrooms. (An exception to this is in limited spaces where masks are required, such as a healthcare operation, setting or service.) UNI has processes in place to address violations of university and board of regents policy.
After an internal review of actions by a single faculty member, the university has taken appropriate measures to uphold compliance with those policies on campus. We cannot comment further on personnel matters."
O'Kane said the issue extends well beyond UNI. He's asking the school, the Board of Regents and state government to set aside politics and prioritize moral and ethical issues.
Under the policy that prevents Iowa's public universities from requiring masks, O'Kane said "statistically, it's almost certain that we've killed people, it's almost certain that we've given people long COVID."
O'Kane will continue to teach online this semester, but doesn't know what will happen to the class he was teaching in person. He also said he'll be rated as "needs improvement" for the entire academic year, and will not get any merit pay.
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