Pictured above: Skyla Luckey was an instructor of three core classes in the Department of Journalism and Digital Communication before being placed on leave.
By Molly Ryan
An adjunct instructor in the Department of Journalism and Digital Communication has been accused of Title IX violations and placed on leave — just a month before the end of the semester.
The 57 students in instructor Skyla Luckey’s classes in Writing for the Mass Media, Beginning Reporting and Web Publishing learned on April 3 that they were getting new instructors.
University of South Florida St. Petersburg spokesperson Carrie O’Brion said Luckey was put on leave amid allegations that she violated Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sexual discrimination, including harassment and violence, in colleges and universities.
In a statement to The Crow’s Nest, O’Brion said, “No conclusions have been made and USF will follow its established review processes.”
“USF is deeply committed to the wellbeing of our students, faculty and staff and takes any allegations of harm to our community extremely seriously,” she said.
When reached by The Crow’s Nest, Luckey declined to comment.
Luckey, 38, holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from USF St. Petersburg. On her LinkedIn profile, Luckey says she has been a reporter at Patch, a digital publication with a focus on local news, since April 2020.
She has also been a freelancer in videography and digital management, written a children’s book, and acted in plays, films and TV commercials, and served in the U.S. Coast Guard, according to the profile and her Instagram account.
At USF, adjuncts are temporary, part-time faculty who teach many key courses. They work from semester to semester and earn far less than regular faculty.
The students in Luckey’s three classes got an email on April 3 from Casey Frechette, the chair of the Department of Journalism and Digital Communication, informing them of Luckey’s abrupt departure and the university’s plan to replace her classes with new instructors.
Frechette, who has taken over the Web Publishing class, said he and the other two replacement teachers — Janet Keeler and Chelsea Zukowski — would work to “ensure a smooth transition.”
Frechette told The Crow’s Nest that he was “unable to comment” on Luckey’s sudden departure. He directed students to contact USF’s Title IX Coordinator Maggie Denney for questions or other supportive measures.
In a response to an email from The Crow’s Nest, Denney said she is “unable to comment on an active case.”
Reports or complaints filed under Title IX are reviewed by USF’s Title IX office.
According to the university’s web page explaining Title IX, “The University of South Florida does not tolerate sex discrimination, sexual harassment, or sexual violence of any kind.” USF’s policy 0-004 Sexual Misconduct/Sexual Harassment (Including Sexual Violence) further explains how reports or complaints are handled and reviewed under Title IX.
The policy states that responses may include “referrals to services or other USF offices, supportive measures, alternative resolutions or formal investigations.”
O’Brion, the director of marketing and communication at USF St. Petersburg, said in a statement to The Crow’s Nest that USF’s Title IX coordinator was notified April 1 of “allegations involving a faculty member, which if accurate, would constitute misconduct under USF’s policies and standards.”
“Based on the allegations, the faculty member was placed on administrative leave pending a review of the matter. Administrative leave does not indicate a finding of misconduct and is a regular step in the process to ensure the integrity of the review.”
“USF had also contacted individuals who may have been affected to ensure they are supported and fully aware of university resources to assist them,” O’Brion’s statement said.
Three of the 57 students in Luckey’s classes told The Crow’s Nest they welcomed the change in instructors.
According to Alex Logue, a junior digital communication and multimedia journalism major currently enrolled in Beginning Reporting, the removal did not come as a surprise as it was “a long time coming.”
“I know a lot of students came forward and the Title IX office intervened, but that’s the extent of my knowledge,” Logue said.
However, Logue expressed that the details behind Luckey’s removal remained unclear.
Similarly, junior digital communications and multimedia journalism major Anthony Rivera, also in Beginning Reporting, is “curious to know what exactly happened to [Luckey] and why she was [put on leave].”
Rivera said he knew of students sharing “complaints about this professor from past and present semesters.” He also pointed to seeing “a lot of negative reviews and not one single positive review” on RateMyProfessor.com, a popular blog-style website for students to share reviews of their instructors.
“I understood that the situation was serious, and it seemed that she needed to be let go as soon as possible,” Rivera said.
Digital communication and multimedia journalism junior, Lauren McCue, currently in Web Publishing, feels that “the university and the Journalism Department are doing everything that they can right now, given the circumstances.”
“[The department was] very vague in their description of what happened, since there is only so much that they can disclose,” McCue said. “However, they offered us Title IX resources, so I think most of us were able to put two and two together.”
While only a week into the new instruction, both Logue and Rivera expressed that the transition had been smooth so far.
For McCue, the main impact of the transition has been the “ level of productivity” in the class now.
“We have basically started learning the curriculum from the very beginning, with four weeks left in the semester,” McCue said. “I am not impressed.”
What comes next?
According to O’Brion, the allegations filed with the Title IX office will be subject to the review process detailed in USF’s policy on sexual harrasment and misconduct.
“To summarize, the Title IX office will assign investigators to the case who will conduct a formal investigation. Then they will hold a live hearing, where a final determination will be reached. Those results can be appealed,” O’Brion said in an email to The Crow’s Nest.
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For any questions or further support regarding this review process, students, faculty and staff are encouraged to contact USF’s Title IX Coordinator Maggie Denney at denney1@usf.edu or 813-974-8616.
For more information about USF’s Title IX policies and procedures, visit usf.edu/title-ix
Editor’s Note:
As the independent student-run newspaper of USF St. Petersburg, The Crow’s Nest is dedicated to maintaining autonomy and adhering to the highest standards of professional journalism ethics.
The staff asked me, the paper’s faculty adviser, to edit this story since many Crow’s Nest editors and reporters have taken a class with Skyla Luckey and are potential witnesses in the university’s Title IX investigation. Those student journalists have recused themselves from working on this story and any future stories involving the case.
- Chelsea Zukowski, faculty adviser for The Crow’s Nest
thank you for the article