CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Northwestern University is distancing itself from a former lecturer, after he wrote a controversial column published in the Wall Street Journal this weekend about incoming First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.
Joseph Epstein is a writer and former adjunct English instructor at Northwestern. On Friday, he wrote an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal that urged future first lady Jill Biden to stop referring to herself as "doctor."
Jill Biden earned a doctorate of education from the University of Delaware in 2007.
Epstein said Biden should not refer to herself as "doctor" because it “feels and sounds fraudulent” and “comic” because she is not a medical doctor.
The piece has generated a great deal of anger online, where people said his arguments were "sexist" and “misogynistic.”
Northwestern University denounced the piece on Saturday, saying his views “misogynistic.”
“While we firmly support academic freedom and freedom of expression, we do not agree with Mr. Epstein’s opinion and believe the designation of doctor is well deserved by anyone who has earned a Ph.D., an Ed.D. or an M.D.,” the statement reads. “Northwestern is firmly committed to equity, diversity and inclusion, and strongly disagrees with Mr. Epstein’s misogynistic views.”
The English Department also released a statement noting that Epstein hasn’t taught there since 2003.
“The Department rejects this opinion as well as the diminishment of anyone’s duly-earned degrees in any field, from any university,” the statement said.
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Biden’s spokesperson, Michael LaRosa, called the piece “pretty gross."
While Joe Biden’s communications director, Kate Bedingfield, called it “patronizing, sexist, elitist drivel.”
Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, also accused Epstein of sexism.
“Dr. Biden earned her degrees through hard work and pure grit,” he tweeted Saturday. “She is an inspiration to me, to her students, and to Americans across this country. This story would never have been written about a man.”
Other have also responded to the piece, including Hillary Clinton, who tweeted, "Her name is Dr. Jill Biden. Get used to it."
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter, Bernice King, tweeted at Biden in support in the wake of the op-ed.
"My father was a non-medical doctor. And his work benefited humanity greatly. Yours does, too," she wrote.
Meanwhile, Jill Biden on Sunday didn’t directly reference the column in her first public statement since its publication. Instead, she shared an uplifting message on Twitter, writing: “Together, we will build a world where the accomplishments of our daughters will be celebrated, rather than diminished.”