In my last column for The Daily, I've decided to take a break from talking about national politics to talk about something right here on campus. I'm a psychology major, and after finishing all my core classes, I was finally able to take some courses from other departments this year. I took my first women studies course, jointly offered through American ethnic studies, with professor Mae Henderson.

Hopefully, you read the story recently printed on the front page of the paper about Henderson. Her contract wasn't renewed by the University.

A little background on Henderson: She attended college in California and earned a degree in sociology, with a minor in women studies. She started her Ph.D. in women studies here at the UW in 2000, and she became the second doctoral graduate from the department. Her dissertation was titled "Fractured Mothering: African-American Mothers at the Crossroads of Expectation and Reality."

She has received various awards. She earned the UW Graduate School Medal in 2005, and she received the Outstanding Teaching Award for the 2004-05 school year from the women studies department. On top of that, she received the Excellence in Teaching Award as a teaching assistant in the women studies and American ethnic studies departments.

Despite all of these awards, and the adoration of her students, the University did not renew her contract.

Henderson is the only black professor I've had at the UW. In fact, she is one of only a couple of non-white teachers I have ever had at the University. My academic work focuses on sexuality and the minority experience in America. Psychology classes that aid me in this focus are few and far between. When I started courses with Henderson, I was bombarded with valuable information. What she teaches isn't just applicable to the American ethnic studies or women studies departments. I've taken her course on race, class and gender, and am taking her course on the history of the African-American women's feminist movement. Our department of psychology would be blessed to have a professor as insightful as Henderson teaching. Why her own department would let her go is beyond me.

There are a few theories floating around. Most students, including myself, aren't well informed in how someone gets hired, or fired. Using my four years here at the University and the experiences I've had, however, I will take a stab at it.

Henderson has not yet had any of her work published. This University is obsessed with published works from faculty. Henderson just recently graduated with her Ph.D.; she hasn't been freeloading for an eternity. She has the ability to raise questions and topics in class that have no solid answers as of yet and beg to be researched. Her questions inspire students to take action. What should be more important than published faculty are professors who inspire students to research by giving them the motivation, tools and knowledge they need.

There's also another theory. In scientific research, if you are a minority doing research on minorities, your bias is questioned. Case in point, a black woman like Henderson doing research on black women is sure to come under scrutiny. Even as a student, I've experienced this phenomenon. I remember applying to a fellowship program here at the UW, and being told during my evaluation that they were disappointed I didn't address my bias, since I am a gay man helping with research on GLBT populations.

I will bet you that white heterosexual students doing research on mostly white heterosexual populations are never insulted with that same question. My status as a minority somehow makes me more likely to tamper with research on people like myself.

The University needs to get out of its Ivory Tower, and take a look down below. This institution is not solely about research and publication. This is a state university, designed to educate students and create a brighter future for tomorrow.

I have never had a teacher at the UW who cared more about whether her students actually learned a damn thing. Henderson may not be my age, race or sex, but I have felt more connected to her than any other teacher, because I can tell that she wants me to learn what she has to teach. I could never learn the information she teaches from any other course on campus. I'd be willing to bet that you couldn't find what she teaches in many universities.

If we, as students, allow the University to get rid of Henderson, we are doing ourselves a disservice by losing the opportunity to learn the important information Henderson has to offer.

We pay the tuition, our families pay the taxes and we vote on the measures that support this institution. Let's not allow the administration to push us around this time. It's time that we demand the University follow through with its promise of diversity in our education. If they won't retain the extremely qualified faculty of color they already have, how can we expect that they will keep their promise and hire new faculty of color in the future?

Reach columnist Hunter Kincaid at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.