Professor Adam Habib’s “mistake” of vocalising the N-word in full did not itself make him a racist, an external investigation at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) has found.
The former Wits University vice-chancellor was suspended from his new job as SOAS director after he used the N-word during a video meeting with students in March. Habib had agreed to “step aside” while the matter was being investigated at the university.
The chairperson of the SOAS Board of Trustees, Marie Staunton, said the board accepted the full recommendations of the independent external investigation.
The report found that while Habib’s mistake of vocalising the n-word in full is unacceptable, it did not in itself make him a racist,” Staunton said.
Habib, therefore, will resume his duties as SOAS director from Monday.
The recommendations include putting in place a restorative justice approach for the incident and a clear policy for the SOAS community on the use of the N-word.
The report recommended that Habib be provided with specific advice and support on equality and diversity issues in the higher education sector, and produced a statement from the board on the lessons learned from this experience and on regular reporting to the SOAS community.
Habib apparently accepted the judgements of the independent investigations “unreservedly” and “completely supported” the recommendations.
“I want to again apologise to all the SOAS community for my conduct, for the offence and hurt, and for the disruption this has caused … I reiterate my commitment to act against all forms of racism, and to work with the SOAS community in identifying and fashioning specific interventions to address the exclusionary experiences of black people and other communities within the institution,” Habib said in the statement.