A quick update on the story about computer science Professor Xiaofeng Wang and Indiana University. A local NPR affiliate published what purports to be the letter IU Provost Rahul Shrivastav wrote to Wang firing him last Friday.
The relevant portion of the letter goes as follows …
I am writing to advise you that Indiana University has decided to terminate your employment effective immediately. Its my understanding you have informed the chair of your department that you have accepted a faculty appointment with a university in Singapore and will start your role there this summer. Please note that you will not be eligible for rehire with Indiana University.
As you can see, the letter does not precisely say that Wang is being fired because he has taken a job at another university, but it certainly suggests that.
If we assume that this is an indirect way of saying he’s being fired for taking a job elsewhere, this simply isn’t how the academic world works. You don’t just get fired from a tenured position. And taking another job isn’t even in the universe of things that merit termination of a tenured position.
If we assume that this is just a bizarre casual aside, it’s even weirder. If the university had reason to believe that Wang had been involved in major misconduct, there are various ways that could be alluded to in a letter like this, without going into the gory details. If he was accused of or under investigation for the same, there are ways you could reference that as well.
Based on the new details, the whole situation seems even more inexplicable than it appeared. It certainly seems possible that in addition to perhaps acting hastily or fearing a conflict with the Trump administration, there may be some additional source of embarrassment or goof that the university administration or the school itself is hiding. Again, this termination letter is simply too weird.
