Indiana University sanctioned a School of Education professor following a formal complaint of discrimination from former student Michael Claycamp in summer 2024.
According to the complaint, assistant professor Marcus Croom made numerous discriminatory comments toward white people while teaching.
Croom is an assistant professor in the School of Education's deparment of Curriculum and Instruction. He has taught at IU since 2020 and previously taught at the University of Illinois Chicago. His research focuses on racial literacy and race theory.
Croom did not respond to a request for comment from the Indiana Daily Student.
In summer 2024, Claycamp filed a formal complaint with the university’s Office of Civil Rights Compliance, first reported by The Herald-Times and independently verified using documents obtained by the IDS.
The complaint reported that Croom made discriminatory comments throughout the semester in his course “Books for Reading Instruction.”
Claycamp declined to comment when contacted by the IDS.
The investigation process included interviews with Claycamp, Croom and other students from Croom’s courses that semester.
During Claycamp’s interviews, he said Croom made comments such as, “White teachers are white supremacists,” according to documents obtained by the IDS.
Claycamp also reported that Croom said he did not hate white people but would “rather not associate with them.”
Following the complaint and Claycamp’s statements, the university spoke with Croom, who reportedly denied all allegations of discriminatory comments.
The investigation concluded in November and found that Croom violated the university’s discrimination policy by fostering a hostile environment for white students.
The university penalized Croom with a level one sanction, requiring him to attend professional development training.
A level one sanction does not affect Croom’s position at the university or his salary, but results in reviews of his teaching practices as well as a letter in his personnel file at the university. Reviews are conducted by a sanctioning official, who is designated by the senior student affairs administrator in coordination with the University’s Title IX coordinator.
Claycamp appealed the decision, seeking more punishment for the professor, according to The Herald-Times.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Rahul Shrivastav declined the appeal Dec. 19, closing the investigation for reevaluation.
The university has also sanctioned multiple professors for violating SEA 202, a 2024 law requiring Indiana’s public colleges to “promote intellectual diversity.”
In August 2025, Germanic Studies Professor Benjamin Robinson received a sanction from the university for violating SEA 202. Robinson was placed under investigation after an anonymous complaint accusing him of discussing Israel and criticizing IU while teaching.
In September, IU Social Work lecturer Jessica Adams was investigated for violating SEA 202 and removed from her classroom following a student complaint about a lecture on white supremacy. Adams returned to the classroom under supervision after six weeks.
Two IU spokespeople and the School of Education did not respond to requests for comment.
Editor’s note: Michael Claycamp is a former staffer for the IDS.
