EDITORS' CORNER
Key Takeaways
- Professor Amy Wax has filed a second lawsuit against the University of Pennsylvania, claiming that the school violated her academic freedom and contract rights by imposing sanctions based on her public comments about immigration and race.
- Wax is seeking a reversal of her sanctions, which include suspension for the 2025-26 academic year and a significant salary reduction, as well as damages for lost wages and legal fees.
- This lawsuit follows a previous federal case that was dismissed, where Wax claimed racial discrimination in the disciplinary process.
University of Pennsylvania Professor Amy Wax has filed a second lawsuit—this time in state court—alleging that the school violated her academic freedom and breached her employment contract by disciplining her for public comments on race and immigration.
“Penn breached the academic freedom protections in Professor Wax’s employment contract by suspending her, revoking her named chair, and permanently reducing her salary based on statements she made on podcasts and in op-eds regarding affirmative action, immigration policies, and the relation between culture and economic advancement,” the lawsuit states.
Wax asserts that Penn’s disciplinary process breached the faculty handbook and her tenure contract by failing to follow required procedures, including denial of the right to cross-examine witnesses.
“Penn violated basic notions of procedural fairness promised in its Handbook and deprived Professor Wax of her contractual rights,” the lawsuit reads.
Further, she argues the process lacked “clear and convincing evidence” as required under Penn’s rules and that key facts were not properly established or disclosed.
The professor is seeking a declaration that Penn breached its contract with her, a reversal of the sanctions, damages including lost wages and benefits, and attorneys’ fees.
Two weeks after Professor Wax’s public remarks on immigration triggered criticism from students, alumni, and donors, the dean of Penn Law School announced his intent to pursue “major sanctions” against her.
He later prepared a list of charges citing several of her public, off-campus statements that he believed justified disciplinary action.
This lawsuit follows Wax’s earlier federal case, which a judge dismissed this year, The College Fix previously reported.
It alleged that Penn applied “racist double standards” by disciplining white faculty more harshly for “harmful” speech.
The judge ruled her racial discrimination claims were “implausible,” finding no evidence that her race was part of the disciplinary process or a factor in bringing charges against her.
Wax has appealed this case, according to Reuters.
The new state-court lawsuit does not focus on racial discrimination, but instead centers on breach of contract, academic-freedom violations, and procedural misconduct by the university.
Wax has argued that issues such as family instability and crime, rather than racism alone, play a larger role in limiting academic outcomes for black Americans.
The professor is currently suspended for the 2025-26 school year and will only receive half her salary.
In 2023, a five-member faculty panel held a three-day hearing, taking testimony from students, alumni, faculty, and experts, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The board ultimately ruled unanimously that Wax had committed a “major infraction” of Penn’s conduct standards for making “derogatory generalizations” about multiple groups.
MORE: U. Texas professors ponder exit due to academic freedom worries
