Ms. Shurtz committed a monumental faux pas and is paying a huge price for it.  From the article it seems she was "foolish", not "malicious".  I don't think she's the U of O equivalent of David Duke.  Clearly she should have known her "costume" would be found insensitive and insulting by others.. A "blackface" appearance, no matter how innocent or well-intended, simply will not "fly" today.

It seems many of her colleagues are ready to ignore her 34 years of teaching (it seems very valuable and successful teaching) and "run her, if not out of town, certainly "out of the University."  It doesn't read like she's any sort of a racist at all....just an individual who showed bad judgment in her actions.  

I would hope she's preparing a "mea culpa" and an apology for her actions.  I'm also hoping the University community is capable of putting this action in the total context of her career and forgiving her.  She made a mistake....OK, a big mistake..but I ask, should it really end her career