Dive Brief:
- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill whistleblower who revealed evidence of illiteracy among athletes enrolled at the school is stepping down.
- Mary Willingham, an academic advisor, decided to resign after meeting with Chancellor Carol Folt, according to The Herald-Sun.
- Willingham decided to leave because of the hostility she was facing from UNC fans online and in the work place, as well as her “irreconcilable differences” with the university.
Dive Insight:
Willingham is probably most famous for delivering to the media the ungrammatical mess of an essay on Rosa Parks that exemplified the level of illiteracy of UNC's athletes. Willingham reported that 60% of student-athletes tested over an eight-year period couldn’t read above an eighth-grade level, and her findings were broadcast widely. UNC fought back with academics it hired who minimized the problem. Willingham told The Herald Sun that in the weeks since, “The work environment has been unpleasant, the UNC fanatics are hostile, and I can see that it will not get better any time soon.”