Margaret Wente resigns from fellowship at Toronto's Massey College after backlash

TORONTO — A former national news columnist whose appointment to a prestigious position at a Toronto college sparked an outcry of opposition has resigned from the post.

Massey College, which is affiliated with the University of Toronto, announced last week that it was appointing Margaret Wente as one of 46 new senior fellows.

This attracted significant backlash, with many calling for the school to reverse its decision due to Wente's past writing in The Globe and Mail, some of which has been criticized for racism and plagiarism.

Alissa Trotz, the director of the University of Toronto's Women & Gender Studies Institute, resigned after sending a letter to the college referring to Wente as “someone who has demonstrated consistent and outright hostility to questions of equity, women and gender studies and anti-racism.”

A petition among current and former faculty and students calling for the school to rescind Wente’s appointment also garnered hundreds of signatures.

One day after Wente's appointment was announced, the college said the decision was being reviewed. The college issued a new statement Monday in which it said Wente had resigned from the position.

The school’s statement said Wente called the accusations against her “false and outrageous” and that she said “her record speaks for itself.”