Current:Home > MarketsUniversity imposes a one-year suspension on law professor over comments on race-LoTradeCoin
University imposes a one-year suspension on law professor over comments on race
View Date:2024-12-23 21:40:10
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The University of Pennsylvania law school says it is imposing a one-year suspension at half-pay and other sanctions along with a public reprimand on a tenured professor over her comments about race in recent years.
The university said Professor Amy Wax — who has questioned the academic performance of Black students, invited a white nationalist to speak to her class and suggested the country would be better off with less Asian immigration — will also lose her named chair and summer pay in perpetuity and must note in public appearances that she speaks for herself, not as a university or law school member. The university has not, however, fired her or stripped her of tenure.
Wax told the New York Sun after the announcement that she intends to stay at the school as a “conservative presence on campus.” She called allegations of mistreatment of students “totally bogus and made up” and said her treatment amounted to “performance art” highlighting that the administration “doesn’t want conservatives like me on campus.”
The university said in a notice posted in its almanac last week that a faculty hearing board concluded after a three-day hearing in May of last year that Wax had engaged in “flagrant unprofessional conduct,” citing what it called “a history of making sweeping and derogatory generalizations about groups by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and immigration status.” Wax was also accused of “breaching the requirement that student grades be kept private by publicly speaking about the grades of law students by race” making “discriminatory and disparaging statements,” some in the classroom, “targeting specific racial, ethnic, and other groups with which many students identify.”
Provost John L. Jackson Jr. said academic freedom “is and should be very broad” but teachers must convey “a willingness to assess all students fairly” and must not engage in “unprofessional conduct that creates an unequal educational environment.” Jackson said Wax’s conduct left many students “understandably concerned” about her being able to impartially judge their academic performance.
Wax’s lawyer, David Shapiro, told the campus newspaper, the Daily Pennsylvanian, in November that officials targeted Wax over her public comments and some elements of her class on conservative thought, including having a white nationalist figure speak. But he said officials also buttressed their case by throwing in “a handful of isolated, years-old allegations (which are highly contested)” about alleged interactions with “a few minority students.”
Wax told the New York Sun that allegations of abuse or discrimination against students were “fabricated and tacked on as a cover for penalizing me for standard-issue, conservative anti-‘woke’ opinions and factual observations that are not allowed on campus.” She said she was committed to exposing students to “opinions and viewpoints they don’t want to hear” and said she fears campuses like Penn are “raising a generation of students who can’t deal with disagreement.”
In 2018, Wax was removed from teaching required first-year law courses after the law school dean accused her of having spoken “disparagingly and inaccurately” about the performance of Black students.
veryGood! (88)
Related
- Multi-State Offshore Wind Pact Weakened After Connecticut Sits Out First Selection
- This Detangling Hairbrush With 73,000+ 5-Star Amazon Reviews Is on Sale for $12
- The FBI alleges TikTok poses national security concerns
- How protesters in China bypass online censorship to express dissent
- Oregon's Dan Lanning, Indiana's Curt Cignetti pocket big bonuses after Week 11 wins
- Russia fires missiles at Ukraine as Zelenskyy vows to defeat Putin just as Nazism was defeated in WWII
- The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu has been knocked offline for more than a month
- Twitter's former safety chief warns Musk is moving fast and breaking things
- Blake Shelton Announces New Singing Competition Show After Leaving The Voice
- Twitter's chaos could make political violence worse outside of the U.S.
Ranking
- Insurance magnate pleads guilty as government describes $2B scheme
- Ed Sheeran Shares Name of Baby No. 2 With Wife Cherry Seaborn
- Sam Bankman-Fried strikes apologetic pose as he describes being shocked by FTX's fall
- Transcript: North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Face the Nation, May 7, 2023
- Kirk Herbstreit berates LSU fans throwing trash vs Alabama: 'Enough is enough, clowns'
- Pregnant Jessie J Pens Heartfelt Message to Her Baby Boy Ahead of His Birth
- More than 200 dead after Congo floods, with many more missing, officials say
- Some Twitter users flying the coop hope Mastodon will be a safe landing
Recommendation
-
Jimmy Kimmel, more late-night hosts 'shocked' by Trump Cabinet picks: 'Goblins and weirdos'
-
Olivia Culpo Teases So Much Drama With Sisters Sophia and Aurora Culpo
-
Emily Ratajkowski Reveals Her Most Dramatic Look Yet With New Pixie Haircut
-
This Detangling Hairbrush With 73,000+ 5-Star Amazon Reviews Is on Sale for $12
-
Miami Marlins hiring Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough as manager
-
Ed Sheeran Shares Name of Baby No. 2 With Wife Cherry Seaborn
-
King Charles' coronation celebration continues with concert and big lunch
-
Indian Matchmaking Season 3 Has a Premiere Date and First Look Photos