Professor Who Said Otto Warmbier Got ‘What He Deserved’ Is Out of a Job

The University of Delaware will not rehire adjunct professor Katherine Dettwyler after her controversial comments about Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old University of Virginia student who died after being imprisoned in North Korea for 17 months.

The university condemned Dettwyler’s now-deleted Facebook post on Friday, where she said Warmbier “got exactly what he deserved” and was “typical of a mindset a lot of the young, white, rich, clueless males” she teaches. But in a statement on Sunday, the university announced its decision to officially cut ties with Dettwyler. She was a professor in the university’s anthropology department.

“Those comments in no way reflect the values or position of the University of Delaware,” the statement read. “The University of Delaware is committed to providing our students, and our community, with an inclusive and supportive atmosphere characterized by respect and civility.”

Warmbier was imprisoned and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea after he allegedly stole a propaganda banner from his hotel. He died last week after he returned to the United States in a coma.