A New College of Florida professor was abruptly fired this month under a controversial state law that limits public universities from employing people from so-called “countries of concern,” including China, Cuba, Iran, Russia and Venezuela. Soon, it will include anyone who checked out library books on those countries! Via the Miami Herald:
Kevin Wang, a Chinese academic who is seeking asylum and authorized to work in the United States, had been teaching Chinese language and culture classes at the small liberal arts college in Sarasota for nearly two years when, on March 12, the school terminated his contract, citing a university regulation based on that law, known as SB 846.
His letter of dismissal, which was reviewed by Suncoast Searchlight, stated that the school’s decision to cancel his contract as an adjunct professor was “not based on any misconduct and does not constitute a dismissal for cause or disciplinary action.” Instead, it claimed, Wang’s immigration status – and, implicitly, his country of origin – made him ineligible for employment at New College.
[…] It also marks the latest flashpoint at New College, a liberal arts school once known for its progressive student body that has become a high-profile ideological battleground after Gov. Ron DeSantis overhauled its leadership, installing political allies on the board of trustees and appointing former Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran as president.
It’s not just Florida. These nasty little ripples of 1939 Germany (and 1942 America) are popping up all over the country:
For Wang, his firing carried echoes of the political repression he fled in China, he told Suncoast Searchlight during an interview this week on campus. He also shared a letter that further elaborated his thoughts on the matter.
“Before coming to the United States in May 2022, I was a university professor in China,” Wang wrote in his letter for Suncoast Searchlight. “I faced political repression from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for criticizing Xi Jinping and the CCP’s domestic and foreign policies, resulting in the loss of my teaching position and my freedom to teach, research, and express myself in China.
“I never expected to face such a distressing experience after escaping persecution from the CCP in China, only to encounter a somewhat similar situation” at New College in the United States.
