Indiana University Bloomington (IUB) – Association of University Professors (AAUP)

31 March 2025

Dear Provost Shrivastav,

The Executive Committee of the Bloomington chapter of the American Association of University
Professors (IUB-AAUP) has learned that Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and
Engineering Professor Xiaofeng Wang’s appointment with tenure has been summarily
terminated. Termination of a tenured faculty member is an action that requires the highest level
of scrutiny and due process. The required steps for termination are specified in University Policy
ACA-52, Section D (appended below). ACA-52 has been adopted by both the UFC and the IU
Board of Trustees.

It is our understanding that Professor Wang was not provided the due process specified in ACA52. His appointment was terminated without the required notice and a hearing before the Faculty
Board of Review.

We are aware of news reports indicating that Professor Wang is under investigation by law
enforcement. While the outcome of those investigations may ultimately bear on Professor
Wang’s continued appointment at IU, the mere fact of an investigation or of unadjudicated
allegations cannot justify failure to comply with university policies on the part of the
administration. It is fundamental that individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
As we are sure you are aware, under current conditions the protection of due process is of utmost
importance to protecting academic freedom. Protection of academic freedom and support of
shared governance are fundamental to the mission of the AAUP and of our chapter. Neither
shared governance nor academic freedom can survive if critical policies developed through
shared governance are summarily bypassed by the administration.

Therefore, we ask that you revoke Prof. Wang’s immediate termination and provide the notice
and hearing required by university policy ACA-52 in order to protect academic freedom and the
academic mission of Indiana University. We ask also that you publicly report to the Bloomington
Faculty Council at its upcoming meeting that you have taken these actions. Silence fuels
suspicion and distrust and makes shared governance harder.

Sincerely,
IUB-AAUP Executive Committee

Alex Tanford (Law), President
Andy Bruno (History)
John Carini (Physics, retired)
Erika Dowell (Libraries)
Bob Eno (EALC, retired)
Diane Henshel (Public and Environmental Affairs)
Israel Herrera (Spanish & Portuguese)
Michael Martin (Media School)
Benjamin Robinson (Germanic Studies)
Sue Tuohy (Folklore and Ethnomusicology, retired)
Carl Weinberg (PACE)

ACA-52, Section D
D. Involuntary Dismissal of Tenured Academic Appointees

1. Involuntary dismissal of tenured academic appointees refers to the
   termination of employment prior to retirement or resignation. Dismissal is thus
   to be distinguished from the non-reappointment during the probationary
   period.
2. On July 27, 1969, the Board of Trustees enacted the following policy:
   Dismissal shall occur only for reason of (a) incompetence, (b)
   serious personal or professional misconduct or (c)
   extraordinary university financial exigency. No academic appointee shall
   be dismissed unless reasonable efforts have been made in private
   conferences between the appointee and the appropriate administrative
   officers to resolve questions of fitness or of the specified financial exigency. If
   no resolution is attained, the appointee to be dismissed shall be notified of
   dismissal in writing by the Provost/Chancellor or the President one year
   before the date the dismissal is to become effective, except that an appointee
   found responsible for serious personal misconduct may be dismissed upon
   shorter notice, but not on less than ten days’ notice. Upon receipt of the
   dismissal notification, an academic appointee must be accorded the
   opportunity for a hearing. A statement with reasonable particularity of the
   ground proposed for the dismissal shall be available in accordance with the
   provisions in the Faculty Constitution. An appointee may be suspended
   during the pendency of dismissal proceedings only if immediate harm to the
   appointee or others is threatened by continuance. Any such suspension may
   be suspended with pay.
3. The hearing required by paragraph 2 shall be held by a campus Faculty
   Board of Review.
4. In any case in which the position of an academic appointee with tenure has
   been eliminated due to a university financial exigency, the university will
   make every reasonable effort to place the appointee in a comparable position
   elsewhere in the university or at another institution.

Full PDF of statement below: