The university has launched an external investigation into a St. Joe’s math professor and placed him on indefinite paid leave.

The investigation involves Greg Manco, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor of mathematics and volunteer assistant coach for the St. Joe’s baseball team.  

According to his SJU Athletics profile, Manco has been with the university since 2005. 

In response to questions from The Hawk, Gail Benner, interim chief marketing and communications officer and director of PR and Media, confirmed on Feb. 22 in an email to The Hawk that Manco “will not be in the classroom or in a coaching role while the investigation is conducted.” 

Nicole Stokes, Ph.D., associate provost of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, said at a Feb. 22 University Student Senate (USS) meeting that while the investigation is ongoing, no details will be released. 

Stokes was invited to the USS meeting to update students about the status of the investigation. 

On Feb. 19, students took screenshots of tweets from Manco’s account, posted them on their own social media accounts and tagged the university. The university responded, “Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We are looking into this immediately.”

In response to an interview request on Feb. 20, Manco referred The Hawk to his previously published op-ed in a Bucks County newspaper and to his Twitter account.

On Feb. 21, Manco posted a thread on his Twitter account, writing, “In advance of a school newspaper article, I wanted to share my thoughts here in a way that they would be unfiltered.” 

Shortly after the thread was posted, Twitter users began harassing the students online and sending death threats. The threats have been ongoing since the initial thread was posted. 

In her Feb. 22 response to The Hawk, Benner wrote: “Saint Joseph’s strives to be an inclusive and diverse community that cares for the whole person. We thank our students for bringing to our attention a possible violation of our values.”