Chinese teacher gets the boot because of a new Florida law.
By Alice Herman/Suncoast Searchlight
Original Air Date: April 2, 2025
Host: A professor at New College of Florida was abruptly fired this month under a new state law that restricts public universities from employing individuals from certain countries, including China, Cuba, Iran, Russia and Venezuela. Alice Herman with the Suncoast Searchlight has the story.
Alice Herman: Kevin Wang is a Chinese academic seeking asylum in the U.S. He had been teaching Chinese language and culture for nearly two years when his contract was terminated on March 12.
A letter he received from the college said that Wang’s dismissal was not based on any misconduct and was due to his immigration status. The letter stated that Wang was ineligible to work under the state’s SB 846 law, which prevents public universities from hiring individuals from so-called “countries of concern.”
Graphic via Suncoast Searchlight.
This decision blindsided Wang’s students and raised concerns over academic freedom.
Wang said he left China after he criticized President Xi Jinping and lost his job there. And he expressed distress at the firing, saying he never expected to face such an experience in the U.S. “I never imagined that after escaping persecution in China, I would face a similar situation here.”
The law in question, SB 846, restricts universities from partnering with institutions or employing individuals from countries deemed a security risk by the state of Florida.
This appears to be the first time an asylum-seeker was targeted by the law.
Screenshot via Suncoast Searchlight.
Immigration lawyers and civil rights groups have condemned the law, calling it discriminatory. The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups are currently suing over the law’s potential violation of constitutional rights. In that lawsuit, plaintiffs compared the law to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
Wang said he hopes his case will highlight the dangers of politicizing academic institutions and the importance of protecting academic freedom.
In the meantime, New College has been scrambling to fill the teaching gap left by Wang’s dismissal.
“I truly hope that such interference undermining academic freedom will not occur again in a place that claims to be a ‘beacon of democracy,’” wrote Wang in a letter.
This has been Alice Herman with the Suncoast Searchlight.
Host: To read the full-length article, go to https://suncoastsearchlight.org/new-college-fires-chinese-professor-florida-countries-of-concern.
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