By Staff
Northwest Asian Weekly
Amy Wax
On Sept. 23, University of Pennsylvania tenured law professor Amy Wax, 71, was suspended. The ruling was made by a five-member faculty committee, which reviewed her record of “flagrantly unprofessional conduct.”
For one year, Wax will not teach and she will receive half of her pay. The suspension takes effect the 2025-2026 school year. According to the PhillyVoice, Wax also will not receive summer pay, will be stripped of her named chair at Penn, and will be required to include a disclaimer in all her public appearances, stating that she is not speaking as a representative for the Carey Law School.
This disciplinary action is the result of two years of review of Wax’s conduct. On multiple occasions, she has expressed inflammatory remarks about students of color, including questioning the capabilities of Black students and expressing that the United States would be better off with fewer Asian immigrants.
In a 2022 podcast with Brown University sociologist Glenn Loury, Wax said, “I actually think [the influx of Asian elites in the United States is] problematic … I think it’s because there’s this … danger of the dominance of an Asian elite in this country, and what does that mean? What is that going to mean to change the culture?”
After the podcast, in response to a listener’s challenge on her views, Wax expanded on her remarks and added that Asian immigration to the U.S. should be minimized due to their support of the Democratic Party. “As long as most Asians support Democrats and help to advance their positions, I think the United States is better off with fewer Asians and less Asian immigration,” Wax said in 2022.
On Sept. 23, in response to Wax’s suspension, a university spokesperson said, “[Wax] breached her responsibilities as a teacher to offer an equal learning opportunity to all students.”
The university issued a “public letter of reprimand” to Wax. In it, Provost John L. Jackson Jr. stated, “Academic freedom is and should be very broad. Teachers, however, must conduct themselves in a manner that conveys a willingness to assess all students fairly. They may not engage in unprofessional conduct that creates an unequal educational environment.”
Let’s be clear. This woman is racist and she has abused her power to harm students of color. The university should at the very least acknowledge the racism and xenophobia which is not just “unprofessional conduct.” Does she go back to teaching in a year? This is someone who should not be allowed to continue in a field.