A UCF professor whose controversial tweets made national headlines — and prompted an investigation — told Knight News he will find a new nonprofit to donate the royalties from the book sales to now that UCF said it will not accept them.
UCF associate psychology professor Charles Negy requires his book, “White Shaming: Bullying Based on Prejudice, Virtue-Signaling, and Ignorance,” as one of two required textbooks for the cross-cultural psychology course he teaches.
Negy said he “must donate” the royalties to the UCF Foundation, according to an email he sent to students in December 2019.
UCF spokesman Chad Binette confirmed on Friday the university has not received any — and said it will not accept any — donations related to sales of Negy’s book.
“Per state law, faculty are not allowed to keep proceeds from books sold to their own classes,” Binette said. “They are not required to donate proceeds specifically to the UCF Foundation but can choose to.”
Negy told Knight News on Sunday he has not yet received any royalties from the publisher and that students are informed he will be donating his royalties from the book sales in the syllabus.
He said about 130 books have been sold to UCF students, but said it was an educated guess.
UCF policies also state it is a conflict of interest for instructors to require the use of textbooks if royalties are expected from materials purchased by students without mitigation efforts being taken.
The policy states an instructor can offer the course materials at a reduced price to students or donate the royalties to a nonprofit organization — Negy said Make-A-Wish, a nonprofit organization helping children with critical illnesses, is where he will donate the royalties.
“The book is a pro-equality book,” Negy said. “It’d be nice if people would read it to see for themselves.”
Negy announced on Twitter in February the book was available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
He encouraged his Twitter followers to reach out to Amazon on Saturday because he said the online seller is unwilling to sell his book.
Individuals on Twitter reached out to Amazon’s support to file a complaint and were told the book is out of stock.
Knight News reached out to Amazon’s public relations team for comment but did not hear back before publication.
The overview of the book on Barnes & Nobles website states readers will appreciate the relatively objective and scholarly treatment on the topic of white shaming — or when white individuals feel guilty for the wrongdoings of other white individuals.
“[The author] delineates ways to confront and combat White shaming with an eye toward improving race relations and restoring civility and respect in public discourse on matters of race, diversity and social justice,” the overview reads.
Negy’s book is one of two books required for his cross-cultural psychology course. The course description states the class focuses on the exploration of theories, issues, and research concerned with the psychological understanding of under-represented minority groups, according to the course description.
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