NY Times: Penn Law Suspends Tenured Prof Amy Wax For One-Year With Half-Pay For Making Racist Remarks

New York Times, Penn Suspends Amy Wax, Law Professor Accused of Making Racist Statements:

The University of Pennsylvania is suspending Amy Wax, a tenured law professor accused of making racist, sexist and homophobic remarks, for a year with half pay. It is a significant sanction but one that falls short of the firing that some students wanted.

The university issued a “public letter of reprimand” to Dr. Wax describing the terms of her suspension, which will begin in the fall of 2025 and which also includes the loss of her named chair and the loss of summer pay in perpetuity.

Disciplinary proceedings against Dr. Wax tested the tenure protections of professors and whether such protections allow them to voice opinions that many might find inappropriate or downright insulting. Many students said that they could not trust Dr. Wax to grade students without bias. But many professors — even those who found her comments profoundly racist — objected to disciplining her on the grounds of academic freedom. ...

For several free speech groups, the case represented a threat to one of the key tenets of academic tenure — the right of faculty members to speak freely, without fear of punishment, whether in public or in the classroom.

Reacting to the suspension, Alex Morey, an official with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a free speech group, said that Penn’s decision “should send a chill down the spine of every faculty member, not just at Penn but at every private institution around the country.”

Ms. Morey, the group’s director of campus rights advocacy, argued that Penn had altered its customary disciplinary procedure to prosecute Dr. Wax. She added that she was gratified that Penn had not revoke[d] Dr. Wax’s tenure, which she said was evidence of how flimsy the accusations were.

Law.com, Penn Law Professor Amy Wax to Be Suspended With Half-Pay for Discriminatory Speech:

Wax has made derogatory comments about Asian immigrants, claimed Black students underperform academically, and invited a white nationalist to her class.

• ABA Journal, Penn Law Prof Gets Half-Pay Suspension for 'Discriminatory and Disparaging Statements'
• Bloomberg Law, Penn Suspends Amy Wax, Law Professor Accused of Racist Remarks
• Daily Pennsylvanian, Penn to Impose Major Sanctions on Law Professor Amy Wax After Years of Controversy
• FIRE, Amy Wax Is Academic Freedom's Canary in the Coal Mine
• FIRE, Statement on University of Pennsylvania Sanctions Against Amy Wax
• Inside Higher Ed, Penn Professor Amy Wax Punished for ‘Derogatory’ Statements but Won’t Lose Job
• Brian Leiter (Chicago), Academic Freedom Abolished at Penn
• Philadelphia Inquirer, Penn Will Sanction Amy Wax, the Law Prof Who Invited a White Nationalist to Speak to Her Class
• Philly Voice, Penn Law Professor Amy Wax Suspended One Year For 'Flagrantly Unprofessional Conduct'
• Wall Street Journal, Penn Suspends Law Professor Amy Wax Over Claims of Racist, Offensive Comments

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)
• Penn Law Dean Ted Ruger Requests Faculty Senate Impose ‘Major Sanction’ Against Tenured Professor Amy Wax (July 18, 2022)
• Amy Wax Raises Over $125,000 To Defend Against ‘Major Sanction’ By Penn; Academic Freedom Alliance Calls For 'Complete Exoneration' (July 25, 2022)
• A Response To Penn Dean Ruger’s Letter Calling For A Major Sanction Against Professor Amy Wax (Aug. 4, 2022)
• Are Contributions To Amy Wax's Legal Defense Fund Tax Deductible? (Sept. 5, 2022)
• Amy Wax Submits 59-Page Memo Seeking Postponement Of Penn Disciplinary Proceedings, Citing Cancer Treatment (Sept. 20, 2022)
• post, Facing Major Sanctions, Amy Wax Files Grievance Against Penn Law Dean Ted Ruger (Jan. 27, 2023)
• This Penn Law Professor Has Been Offending Minorities For Years. Will Tenure Save Her? (Feb. 18, 2023)
• NY Times: UPenn Accuses A Law Professor Of Racist Statements. Should She Be Fired? (Mar. 15, 2023)
• 'Academic Freedom Has To Protect The Amy Waxes So It Can Be There To Protect The Galileos' (Mar. 22, 2023)
• Tenured Law Professor Amy Wax, Under Siege For ‘Truth Telling’ On Race, Makes Her Case (Apr. 5, 2023)
• Amy Wax And The Limits of Academic Freedom (Apr. 19, 2023)
• Amy Wax Appeals Sanctions Imposed By Penn Faculty Senate (1-Year Suspension At 50% Pay, Loss Of Chair) (Feb. 21, 2024)
• More Criticism Of The Sanctions Imposed On Penn Law Prof Amy Wax (Feb. 27, 2024)
• Penn Law Prof Amy Wax Speaks Out About Sanctions Imposed On Her: 'The Woke Catechism Is Contrary To Every First Amendment Principle' (June 30, 2024)

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