Penn Law Dean Ted Ruger Requests Faculty Senate Impose ‘Major Sanction’ Against Tenured Professor Amy Wax

Update:  Brian Leiter has more here.

The Daily Pennsylvanian, Penn Law Dean Requests Faculty Senate Impose ‘Major Sanction’ Against Amy Wax:

Penn Law School Dean Ted Ruger requested that the Faculty Senate impose a “major sanction” against tenured Penn Law professor Amy Wax, an action that brings the University closer to potentially terminating the controversial academic.

In a 12-page report sent on June 23 to Faculty Senate Chair Vivian Gadsden, Ruger argued that Wax’s bigoted public statements and her behavior on campus and inside the classroom have violated multiple University standards for faculty, citing numerous student and faculty accounts of the conduct that he believes warrants disciplinary action. Ruger requested that the Faculty Senate convene a hearing board to conduct a full review of Wax’s conduct and ultimately impose a major sanction, in line with the University's policy for punishing tenured faculty members.

“Academic freedom for a tenured scholar is, and always has been, premised on a faculty member remaining fit to perform the minimal requirements of the job,” Ruger wrote in the letter. “However, Wax’s conduct demonstrates a ‘flagrant disregard of the standards, rules, or mission of the University.'”

University policy describes a major sanction as “termination; suspension; reduction in academic base salary; zero salary increases stipulated in advance for a period of four or more years.”

• ABA Journal, Citing Statements Penn Law Prof Allegedly Made While Teaching and in Interviews, Dean Asks For Discipline Against Her
• Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Penn Law Dean Asks For ‘Major Sanction’ Against Professor Amy Wax, Creating Tenure Threat For All Penn Faculty
• Inside Higher Ed, Is Penn Going to Punish Amy Wax?
• Philadelphia Inquirer, Penn Law Dean Seeks ‘Major Sanction’ Against Professor Amy Wax

Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

• Wax & Alexander: Paying The Price For Breakdown Of The Country's Bourgeois Culture (Aug. 13, 2017)
• Reaction To Law Profs' Op-Ed On The Breakdown Of The 'Bourgeois Culture' (Aug. 25, 2017)
• Penn Law Students Try To Ban Amy Wax From Teaching Civil Procedure Due To Her Breakdown Of The Bourgeois Culture Op-Ed (Sept. 10, 2017)
• Controversy Over Law Profs' Op-Ed On The Breakdown Of The 'Bourgeois Culture' Shifts From Penn To San Diego (Sept. 21, 2017)
• More Law Prof Reactions To The Wax & Alexander Op-Ed On The Breakdown Of The 'Bourgeois Culture' (Sept. 22, 2017)
• Reynolds: It Is Time Academics Preach the Virtues They Practice (Sept. 26, 2017)
• Penn Alumni Speak Out Against Breakdown Of The 'Bourgeois Culture' Op-Ed (Sept. 26, 2017)
• Wax: The Closing Of The Academic Mind (Feb. 19, 2018)
• Penn Dean Denies Amy Wax's Claim That He Asked Her To Take Leave Due To Controversial Op-Ed (Feb. 21, 2018)
• Heather McDonald: The Penn Law School Mob Scores A Victory (Mar. 19, 2018)
• Amy Wax: The University Of Denial — Aggressive Suppression Of The Truth Is A Central Feature Of American Higher Education (Mar. 24, 2018)
• Amy Wax Controversy Drags Penn Law Into Free-Speech Dilemma (July 27, 2019)
• Penn Law Removes Statement On RBG’s Death After Inclusion Of Amy Wax Quote Sparked Outrage (Sept. 29, 2020)
• Penn Law Dean Ruger Responds To Comments Made By Professor Wax (Jan. 6, 2022)
• Debate Intensifies Over Potential Discipline For Penn Law Prof Amy Wax (Jan. 15, 2022)
• Penn Law Dean Starts Process That Could Lead To Sanctions On Professor Amy Wax (Jan. 19, 2022)
• More Commentary On The Amy Wax Controversy At Penn (Part 1) (Jan. 25, 2022)
• More Commentary On The Amy Wax Controversy At Penn (Part 2) (Jan. 31, 2022)