(The Lion) — A Wisconsin Catholic university has instructed its faculty and staff to include their preferred pronouns in email signatures as part of its new branding and professionalism guidelines.
Viterbo University’s vice president for marketing, communications and enrollment, Erin Edlund, circulated a memo titled “ACTION REQUESTED: Updating email signatures and profile photos.”
The memo at the La Crosse institution said employees should omit image files (for ADA compliance), use either Helvetica or Georgia font, include a professional photo or Viterbo logo and add pronouns, the College Fix reports.
The memo provided this template for its employees:
- First Last Name (pronouns: list yours here)
- Viterbo University
- Title | Department
- Phone number
- Office Room Number
Edlund included her own pronouns, “she/her/hers,” in the signature of that same email.
Some members of the local Catholic community strongly rebuked the university.
Tom Nash, staff apologist at Catholic Answers, criticized the policy as “another bowing to the zeitgeist, i.e., the spirit of the age, which says we can determine who we are, not our Creator.”
He told the College Fix the move is “misguided” and said Catholic teaching is “clear that we are made in God’s image and likeness, and that ‘male and female he created them’ (Gen. 1:26-27).”
“There’s no reason why a male faculty member should add ‘he/him’ to his university email signature, or a woman faculty member ‘she/her,’ as those are self-evident realities – or should be,” Nash added.
Viterbo also supports on-campus groups such as a Pride Club – also called the “Gay Straight Alliance” – and a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Center. The Pride Club works with local drag events and observes Transgender Day of Remembrance. Its social media has advertised queer films and events with pride symbolism.
The DEI office organizes workshops, internships and student programming promoting inclusivity, social justice and identity topics.
Nash said these programs shouldn’t exist, either.
“Students who experience same-sex attraction (SSA) should benefit from a Courage group established on campus, and the school’s related counseling should also conform with the Church’s teaching,” he said. “Similarly, the university should reverse its policy on permitting students to choose pronouns at odds with their God-given biological sex.”
Viterbo’s overall student body numbers around 1,900 students. The school is affiliated with the Franciscan Sisters and emphasizes liberal arts, health care and teacher education.
