University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax has launched a federal lawsuit against the institution, accusing it of racial discrimination and bias in handling free speech issues. The case amplifies an ongoing dispute between Wax and university administrators, centered on her divisive public statements on race and immigration.
Wax’s lawsuit alleges that UPenn disproportionately targets white faculty for disciplinary actions under its free speech policies while sparing minority colleagues from similar scrutiny. She claims the university breached her tenure rights by imposing a one-year teaching suspension with half pay in 2023 following an investigation into her remarks, which many condemned as racist.
“White speakers are far more likely to be disciplined for ‘harmful’ speech, while minority speakers rarely face similar consequences,” the lawsuit states.
The university has not commented on the case, and Wax has described herself as a victim of the culture wars, denying accusations of racism in her court filing.
Wax, who joined UPenn’s law school in 2001 and specializes in social welfare law, has faced years of backlash for her statements. The controversy began in 2017 after she co-authored an opinion piece asserting the superiority of Anglo-Protestant cultural values.
In 2018, she was barred from teaching first-year law courses following a podcast appearance where she stated she had “never seen a Black law student graduate in the top quarter of the class and rarely in the top half.”
The controversy intensified in 2022 when Wax wrote a blog post suggesting the U.S. would benefit from reduced Asian immigration, linking her stance to Asian American voting trends. The post prompted the former law dean to advocate for significant sanctions against her.
Wax’s lawsuit also points to alleged inconsistencies in UPenn’s disciplinary practices, citing examples of faculty members who made controversial or inflammatory statements without facing repercussions.
This legal battle marks another chapter in the broader national debate over free speech, academic freedom, and institutional accountability in higher education.
