Employees Fired for Including Pronouns in University Emails

Two residential hall directors at Houghton University in upstate New York were fired for including their pronouns in their work email signatures. The university cited "institutional policy" as the reason for their termination. The directors included their pronouns due to their gender-neutral first names and past experiences of being misgendered. The university has faced backlash from alumni for the terminations and the closure of the Mosaic Multicultural Center. The university claims the center was closed due to budgetary reasons and has denied terminating employment based solely on the use of pronouns in staff email signatures.