TROY — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute sparked outcry and debate Tuesday when its entire alumni listserv woke up to an email from the school shaming graduates who had stopped donating and questioning whether such action could be the result of internalized racism and sexism.

The email was originally crafted by Christopher Bystroff, an RPI professor of biological sciences and Computer Science Director of the Bioinformatics Programs, who sent it to fellow faculty on Jan. 22, a day after the Times Union published an article about the growing share of alumni who had stopped donating amid concerns over the school's direction and governance, including the leadership of President Shirley Ann Jackson.

In the email, Bystroff questioned the decision by some alumni to withdraw their financial support to the university and suggested such actions could be driven by "residual racism and sexism" among the school's "white male majority" alumni base. Jackson, who began in the role in 1999, is the first woman and African-American to serve as president of the esteemed engineering school.

"I can't help thinking that if she were white, male (and maybe a bit taller!), she would not be so quickly dismissed as an autocrat," Bystroff wrote.

On Monday night, that email was forwarded to the alumni listserv by RPI Vice President of Institute Advancement Graig R. Eastin, who wrote: "Because you are all ambassadors of the Institute, I wanted to make sure you received a copy of (Bystroff's) email."

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Alumni did not seem to appreciate the message, viewing it as an endorsement by RPI of Bystroff's views. In less than 10 minutes after the email was sent, alumni began emailing the Times Union and posting on social media that they felt "unfairly" attacked by the message and found RPI's decision to distribute the email "unprofessional."

"They chose to shame everyone instead of facilitate an open discussion," said Rachel Smith, a 2011 graduate. "This tone-deaf attitude is exactly why people are no longer donating. The institute needs to be open-minded, inquisitive and willing to change, just like they try to teach their students to do."

Bystroff told the Times Union on Tuesday that nobody at RPI — including Eastin — informed him they would be distributing his email to alumni, but that even if they had he would have been fine with it.

"I found out about it when I started getting emails," he said. "I had some very nice replies, but then I also had some foul language being sent to me. Racism and sexism are hot-button words. They tend to trigger extreme responses."

Eastin did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

RPI spokeswoman Richie Hunter said the email blast was not intended to be an endorsement of Bystroff's views.

"As we have repeatedly said in many ways, philanthropic giving is a very personal choice," she said. "People decide to give, or not give, for personal reasons. There is no one reason why Rensselaer alumni choose to give or not give. Rensselaer is extremely appreciative of the generosity of our alumni who do give and support the university."

Bill Blanchfield is one of those alumni. The 79-year-old Utica man completed his undergrad at RPI in 1960 and his graduate studies in 1965, and today gives generously to his alma mater — despite serious concerns he has that the administration reacts "too aggressively" to dissent.

Examples include the administration's decision to pursue disciplinary charges against students who organized and attended a peaceful rally this past fall to protest a takeover of the student union, and the 2007 dissolution of the Faculty Senate shortly after its members took a vote of "no confidence" in Jackson. (The vote failed by a narrow margin).

"At RPI, 99.9 percent of the student body was male, white, very competitive," Blanchfield said of his time on campus. "The professors were men. Very few women were anything but support staff. There weren't even enough restrooms for women. It was just too much testosterone."

Although the student body remains predominantly white and male, the school is more diverse now than ever before and Blanchfield thinks Jackson is to thank for that. Since she started, he said, her administration has worked to boost diversity by transforming RPI's image from that of a small technical engineering school to a well-rounded university offering both STEM programs and liberal arts programs in the humanities, arts and social sciences.

"Friends of mine have said, 'Oh, she's domineering, she's difficult, she's cold.' When I hear that my head starts spinning because they would never say that about a man," Blanchfield said. "So, yeah, I'm guessing that there is a deep-seated resentment about Jackson among some of our older, white, male alumni."

The Times Union also heard from a number of people in the RPI community Tuesday who said that while racism and sexism on campus are real and serious issues, the growing unrest with campus leadership is rooted in specific actions taken by Jackson, her administration and the board of trustees.

"Rather than being willing to listen to concerns of alumni and current students, those who wish to see change are insulted and written off as ignorant," said Anthony Tiano, a 2013 graduate.

Save the Union, a group of students who are against the administration's takeover of the formerly student-run student union, issued an open letter Tuesday condemning Bystroff's email and the institute's decision to recirculate it.

"Instead of insulting those who disagree with us," they said, "we continue to welcome and hope for the opportunity to engage in useful dialogue with any faculty, staff, alumni, students, administrators and trustees."