ZEVO NEWS-

Penn Law prof. loses teaching duties over remarks on black pupils A law professor at the University of Pennsylvania will no longer teach a required course following backlash to her claims that black students “rarely” graduate at the top of their classes. Law School Dean Ted Ruger said in a statement Tuesday that tenured professor Amy Wax spoke “disparagingly and inaccurately” about the performance of black students.

He announced she would be allowed to continue teaching elective classes but that she will no longer serve as the professor for the introductory civil procedure class. “Black students have graduated in the top of the class at Penn Law,” Ruger told student newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian. “And contrary to any suggestion otherwise, black students at Penn Law are extremely successful, both inside and outside of the classroom, the job market, and in their careers.” Wax’s controversial remarks came during a September 2017 talk with Brown University professor Glenn Loury called “The Downside to Social Uplift.”

“Here’s a very inconvenient fact, Glenn: I don’t think I’ve ever seen a black student graduate in the top quarter of the class, and rarely, rarely in the top half,” she said. “I can think of one or two students who scored in the top half of my required first-year course.” Wax, an expert in social welfare law and policy, noted the class typically has between 89 and 95 students a year, “so I’m going on that because a lot of this data is a closely guarded secret.” Ruger said Wax violated school policy in citing students’ grades during her interview and rejected her claims that the school’s law review had a diversity mandate.

Wax’s interview sparked outrage among students and the Penn State community when it resurfaced earlier this week, with alumni kicking off a petition demanding action be taken against the professor. Her claims are “in clear violation of the terms and spirit of Penn Law’s anonymous grading policy, compromise the law school’s assurance that grades are maintained by the registrar under strict scrutiny. More than 30 Penn Law professors said they respected Wax’s right to free speech, but each signed an open letter condemning her racially charged statements.

The professor did not immediately return request for comment, but recently told the Daily Pennsylvanian that “student performance is a matter of fact, not opinion.” “It is what it is.”

ht/ potstirrer