Published On: Sat, Jul 16th, 2016

Former FAU Professor Sues University for Discrimination

Dr. Chunxue Victor Wang, a Florida Atlantic University professor of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology was fired from the university after being suspected of sending accusatory emails to faculty members.  Now, he is suing the university under the claim that his dismissal from his position was an act of discrimination. He accused the Board of Trustees of disregarding the Florida Civil Rights Act and claimed one count of deprivation for due process as evidenced by the Broward Palm Beach New Times. Although the lawsuit was filed on Friday, June 3, 2016, the first emails date back to 2014. If you find yourself in a situation similar to Dr. Chunxue Victor Wang, and the company neglects to follow a fair procedure, it may result in grievances or claims of unfair dismissal. In such cases, these matters could potentially progress to an employment tribunal. For the most effective assistance, please click this URL here.

The emails signed by a “Mr. Joe” were traced back to Indonesia and blamed faculty of plotting amongst each other to maintain employee wages low and boost unqualified workers to higher positions. Thus, FAU faculty deduced that “Wang and Joe having both come from Asian descent, (Wang from China and Mr. Joe from Indonesia.) Wang or someone connected to him must have been the person behind the account.” The email account is under the name changshakid@gmail.com referring to a Chinese city rather than a location in Indonesia according to the Broward Palm Beach New Times.   It’s also curious that the username mentions a “kid” which may give a signal as to the age of the culprit. But FAU officials seem to be convinced Wang is to blame.

The faculty also took into consideration the professor’s salary complaints around the same time the email campaign was underway.   The lawsuit stated that Wang had come upon the realization he was receiving “19,000 dollars less in comparison to his tenured colleagues that were not of Asian descent.”  Additionally, Wang acknowledged that he had never been to Indonesia as stated in the Palm Beach Post. Despite this, the professor was fired on May 24, 2016 after failing to comply with the universities orders to offer “an official apology” to the professors mentioned in the emails.

Wang decided to seek legal help after he obtained a “C” on his teacher evaluation. In fact, he was also deferred for five days from campus as well as invited to attend a training workshop for anti discrimination, ironically enough.

“It’s not right of a prominent Florida university to try and get rid of a good professor while paying him less,” said an FAU student who wished to remain anonymous.

It seems Dr. Wang has left behind quite a legacy at the university as he has appeared on CCTV America for a segment on vocational education and written over 200 books and journal articles. Some of them even employed as textbooks for courses specializing in Strategic Leadership and Management. Prior to his dismissal, the professor had also been working on editing the International Journal of Adult Vocational Education and Technology alongside Columbia professor Dr. Lyle Yorks and adult educational theorist, Dr. Patricia Cranton according to his college of education profile on the university’s website.

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