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George Washington professor who lied about being Black has resigned

Associate Professor of history Jessica Krug said "I have built my life on a violent anti-Black lie" in a recent blog post that revealed she lied about her race.

WASHINGTON — George Washington University confirmed in a statement that associate professor of history Jessica Krug, who recently said she's lied for years about being Black, has resigned from her position at the school.

GW said other faculty members and professors will teach the students and classes that Krug was supposed to teach. GWU announced late last week that she would not be teaching classes in the 2020 fall semester, so plans were already in place to replace her. 

Counseling is also being offered at the school to help those who need to speak about the situation. Several GWU students described Krug as a mentor to many on campus.

"Many of you understandably have many questions in the wake of the Medium post by GW faculty member Jessica Krug," the university said in its initial letter to those affiliated with the school. "While the university reviews this situation, Dr. Krug will not be teaching her classes this semester.  We are working on developing a number of options for students in those classes, which will be communicated to affected students as soon as possible."

Krug wrote in a blog post published last Thursday that she was a coward and a "culture leech." She wrote that she is white and Jewish, but claimed to have North African, African American and Caribbean heritage. 

"For the better part of my adult life, every move I’ve made, every relationship I’ve formed, has been rooted in the napalm toxic soil of lies," she wrote.

Krug's areas of expertise, according to her bio on the George Washington University web page, include Africa, Latin America and African American History. She's taught classes on African History and African Diaspora.

Krug said she has been battling mental health issues since childhood. However, she did not blame her actions on her mental health. She wrote that she thought about admitting her lies sooner.

George Washington University released the following in a letter to its community about the situation:

Dear GW Community,

We are writing with an update regarding GW faculty member Jessica Krug. Dr. Krug has resigned her position, effective immediately. Her classes for this semester will be taught by other faculty members, and students in those courses will receive additional information this week.

We continue to encourage students who have been affected to seek support from our Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement (ODECE), Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), or Office of Advocacy and Support (OAS). Assistance for faculty and staff is available through our Wellbeing Hotline. We hope that with this update our community can begin to heal and move forward.

Sincerely,

M. Brian Blake
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Paul Wahlbeck
Dean, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences 

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