Department of Ed. investigates UPitt for possible violation of professor's 'academic freedom'

With news of Wang’s removal from his position, the Department of Education sent a letter to the University requesting various records, one of them including, “All records of, relating to, referring to, regarding, or concerning Dr. Norman Wang.”

The letter also states, “The U.S. Department of Education (‘Department’) has become aware of facts suggesting the University of Pittsburgh (‘Pitt’) improperly targeted Dr. Norman Wang, associate professor of medicine, with a campaign of denunciation and cancellation due to the publication of his peer-reviewed scientific article in the Journal of the American Heart Association advocating race-neutral admissions and hiring in cardiology.”

The letter also states that the department is concerned that Wang may have been treated differently if he was of a different race.

“Consequently, the Department is concerned Pitt’s many representations to students, faculty, and consumers in the market for education credentials regarding its support for academic freedom are false…The facts further suggest Dr. Wang may have been disparately treated because of his race (Asian). That is, Pitt would not have acted against him for publishing an academic paper containing the same or similar arguments and empirical data if he were of a different race…”

The letter from the Department of Education states that it is opening an investigation to determine whether the University of Pittsburgh violated its promise of "academic freedom" and "freedom of expression."

The department is also investigating the University of Pittsburgh for its possible use of race-based admissions.

JAHA told Campus Reform that the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center initially requested the retraction: “As noted on our website, we adhere to COPE standards and the retraction request as submitted by the institution met those for retraction.”

Obligatory "lol, COPE"