Truesee's Daily Wonder

Monday, January 17th 2011, 10:08 AM

UC Davis/Dr. Edward Feldman, a professor at University of California Davis, is under investigation for allegedly polling students about which grade to give to a female student who missed class to give birth.

A senior professor at University of California Davis is under fire for allegedly setting up a bizarre poll that asked students which grade should be given to a female student who missed class to give birth.

Edward C. Feldman, the chairman of the medicine and epidemiology department at the school's veterinary college, polled third-year students as to whether the new mother should receive an automatic letter grade, an average of her scores or a single final exam, according to Inside Higher Ed.

The email, which was sent by the class presidents on Feldman's behalf, was leaked by a ticked UC-Davis student to a blog called On Becoming a Domestic and Laboratory Goddess, a science blog that focuses on women's issues in academia.

In the email, the class presidents said the female student had recently given birth, which means that she "will undoubtedly miss one, or more, or all quizzes" in a class.

"Dr. Feldman is not sure how to handle this and has requested the class give input and vote.  He has provided us with 6 options on which to vote and is open to any other ideas you may have.  Most likely a CERE poll will be up next week and voting will close no later than Wednesday," the email said, according to the blog. 

Among the letter grades, the professor also offered options that would allow the new mom to be "graded the same as everyone else," given a grade based on an average of her quiz scores or be allowed to take a single final exam.

The school's chancellor said she was reviewing the accusations and promised "swift action."

"I take very seriously any allegations that a student's welfare, dignity or academic rights have in any way been compromised," Linda P.B. Katehi, chancellor at Davis, said in an email provided by Inside Higher Ed. "And as a woman, who has experienced firsthand the challenges of melding academic and family life and has experienced discrimination, I am especially sensitive to this issue."

"This alleged action, if found to be true, would present a serious deviation from the values and principles that guide our campus and our School of Veterinary Medicine," Katehi added.

Katehi also said that the veterinary school, in which 85% of the students are female, has many services to help expectant mothers, including allowing extended leave and private rooms where students can breast-feed their babies.

Feldman told Inside Higher Ed he had no comment about the email.

"I don't care what people say. It is between me, my students and my school," the professor said.