We ask you to join the Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) and other signatories as we express our concern about the termination by Indiana University (IU) of Professor XiaoFeng Wang, a tenured professor. Please sign on by 8 pm Eastern Time on Monday, April 21, 2025.
In this letter, we raise our concerns about whether this termination occurred without adherence to the University’s due process policies, including the requirement for notice and a hearing before the Faculty Board of Review, under University Policy ACA-52. We request the reinstatement of Professor Wang and for IU to grant him his due process rights and the opportunity to defend himself.
Moreover, we provide this letter to offer additional context from the Asian American and broader scholar, scientific, and research community. Professor Wang’s case has implications for the broader research community. There is a concern that scholars could receive backlash from their universities for activities that are not their own (i.e., getting in trouble for a grant that is not your own or a project you had no awareness of), and a question on whether scholars will be scapegoated and stripped of due process by universities for administrative errors and mistakes on paperwork as opposed to working together to fix any administrative errors. Oftentimes, scholars are not even making any intentional mistakes as those who are considered collaborators may not always be clearly defined. The criminalization of administrative matters and the scapegoating of individual academics will lead to a chilling environment for the research community and deter international collaborations that are so vital to our country’s competitiveness and prosperity.
As concerns increase about the potential return of the DOJ’s China Initiative, we must make a stand as a community and ensure that the principles of due process and fairness are upheld.
We also cordially invite you to our upcoming AASF State of Play Virtual Town Hall on Monday, April 14, 2025, 3 – 4:30 PM ET. Professor XiaoFeng Wang’s wife, Nianli Ma, will join the virtual town hall to share the challenges that her family is facing. The session will also address growing challenges scholars, scientists, and researchers face from upcoming legislation and heightened scrutiny of scholars, scientists, researchers, and students.
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Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) is a national nonprofit that promotes academic belonging, openness, freedom, and equality for all. In response to heightened anti-Asian sentiments and profiling in the U.S., AASF has been a leading national voice fighting for the rights of Asian American and immigrant scientists, researchers, and scholars. AASF membership includes members from the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Science, and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, in addition to past and current university presidents, provosts, vice provosts, deans, associate deans, and past and current department chairs.
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