UPDATE: University of Michigan’s Discrimination Against Professor Emily Lawsin
FACT SHEET: THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN’S DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PROFESSOR EMILY LAWSIN
For the past 18 years, Emily Lawsin has been an influential Asian American scholar and teacher as a full-time faculty member in the Department of Women’s Studies and Department of American Culture at the University of Michigan. Professor Lawsin is an expert in the study of women of color, Filipino Americans, immigration, feminism, and community activism. With her classes in high demand and regularly oversubscribed, she has received multiple awards and recognitions for her teaching and public service. On a campus where students of color are severely underrepresented and regularly report enduring a hostile climate, Professor Lawsin is a much sought out and cherished mentor. She is an acclaimed poet and widely hailed for her public speaking, social justice work in Detroit, and national advocacy on behalf of Filipino Americans and Asian American women.
EMPLOYMENT STATUS: U-M DISTORTS LAWSIN’S RECORDS AND DISREGARDS UNIVERSITY PROCEDURES
Professor Lawsin’s “Level IV” lecturer status, the highest rank for lecturers within the university system, guarantees a “presumption of renewal.”. This is the closest thing to tenure. Therefore, her two departments took an extraordinarily adverse action when they twice voted to recommend her termination in November 2017 and February 2018. The College of LSA did vote to terminate her in March 2018.
Revoking her right to a “presumption of renewal,” Professor Lawsin’s departments conducted her most recent review as though to build a case against her renewal. They overlooked overwhelming evidence of her scholarly merit. Distorting her record and repeatedly violating multiple university guidelines and procedures, the departments have issued the following so-called core evidence against Professor Lawsin:
a) The departments claim that Professor Lawsin focuses too much on “the Filipino experience” in her classes.
b) When taking sick/medical leave that was fully reviewed and approved by the university, Professor Lawsin was then accused of causing a “disruption” to her classes. The departments further cite a drop in student course ratings as evidence against her — when, at that time, Professor Lawsin was ordered off work by her doctor during a high-risk pregnancy and gave birth to a child with Down syndrome and potentially life-threatening health conditions.
c) The department chairs exposed Professor Lawsin to discrimination and retaliation by adding improper and inflammatory “supplemental” materials to her review file that disclosed her medical history and included extensive personal correspondence highlighting policy disagreements she had with current and former department chairs.
RACE/GENDER DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION
Professor Lawsin has made multiple complaints to university officials indicating a hostile race climate at U-M and a pattern of racial discrimination in faculty retention within the College of LSA. The Department of American Culture has terminated or failed to retain 20 faculty of color since just before she was hired, leaving white employees overrepresented among the senior faculty and leadership. U-M has gone to great lengths to disregard this revolving door of faculty of color and deny its relationship to disparate treatment.
The department stigmatized the most vocal graduate students and faculty of color, deeming them the source of the “climate problem.” On the other hand, it promoted white faculty who were the subject of complaints of racial insensitivity or complicit in covering up harassment of people of color. Departmental leaders introduced biases in PhD admissions against “queer of color” and undocumented students. To prevent an honest and transparent discussion of its problems, the department censored and distorted official climate studies and reviews, while secretly communicating a narrative rooted in white fragility to senior administrators.
U-M’s FLAWED RESPONSES TO SEXUAL ASSAULT AND HARASSMENT
Based on surveys and assessments endorsed by the administration, over 3,000 students are sexually assaulted each school year at the University of Michigan. However, U-M’s Office for Institutional Equity found only five student sexual assault violations in the past year. Moreover, senior administrators have pressured the Department of Women’s Studies to stand by U-M’s failed actions and policies to combat sexual assault and harassment. Professor Lawsin has been subject to retaliation for her proactive advocacy to address these alarming problems. In Fall 2015—before the #MeToo campaign went viral or the Larry Nassar scandal at Michigan State University was exposed—Professor Lawsin, as an elected member of the Women’s Studies executive committee, made a motion for the department to issue a solidarity statement with sexual assault survivors and call for more effective action from the university. Contradicting its mission stating that it is “dedicated” to feminist “activism” and committed to “challenge power inequities,” the Department of Women’s Studies rejected her resolution, effectively covering up UM’s flawed responses to sexual assault and harassment.
UNDERMINING ASIAN/PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICAN STUDIES
Professor Lawsin played a central role in rebuilding the Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies Program, which has been repeatedly undermined by loss of faculty, decline of public events, and the refusal of U-M leaders to appoint a director with research and teaching experience in the field. Professor Lawsin has presented evidence that senior administrators and faculty have violated U-M procedures and bylaws in appointing directors and marginalizing her presence within the program. Students and alumni, who have been shut out of meaningful involvement in the program, have circulated an open letter calling for faculty hires, resources, accountability, and external review. Representative Stephanie Chang, alumnus and elected member of the Michigan State House of Representatives, has also issued a pointed statementx in response.
ONGOING CAMPAIGN FOR JUSTICE
Every attempt Professor Lawsin made to have these matters investigated or redressed by her supervisors and senior university administrators resulted in dismissive or retaliatory action. One department chair scolded her in writing for using a “tone” characterized as “uncollegial and troubling.” At the same time, department chairs endorsed senior faculty writing emails and making statements defaming Professor Lawsin behind her back.
For these reasons, Professor Lawsin was moved to file a civil rights lawsuit against the University of Michigan in December 2016. The case, currently in discovery, effectively functions like a class action lawsuit. Vowing to fight “vigorously” against the legal complaint, U-M is actively repudiating the civil rights of faculty of color at the same time that President Mark Schlissel is directly engaged in extended negotiations to uphold the rights of white supremacist Richard Spencer. Professor Lawsin and co-plaintiff Scott Kurashige are working to expose university-wide practices and the conduct of senior administrative leaders to scrutiny within the justice system. They are seeking transformative structural changes to ensure equity and inclusion for all members of protected classes.
For more information:
74-page complaint—filed in Washtenaw County Circuit Court on December 5, 2016
To sign the petition in support of A/PIA Studies: https://www.change.org/p/fully-restore-university-of-michigan-s-asian-pacific-islander-american-studies
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Update on Kurashige and Lawsin v. University of Michigan
On December 2, the lawsuit brought forth by Professors Scott Kurashige and Emily Lawsin went to trial. After several weeks of arguments and cross-examination, we are now awaiting the final verdict to be delivered by the jury. We share a direct update from the students who have been closely monitoring the court proceedings below. Please stay tuned for updates on the lawsuit.
A Message from University of Michigan A/PIA Student Activists:
After closing arguments on Wednesday, the jury will resume at 8:30AM on Friday to continue deliberating whether the University is guilty of multiple counts of misconduct regarding discrimination against Emily Lawsin and Scott Kurashige. The #UmichIsComplicit campaign would like to take this waiting period to thank every single student, community member, and alumni that has contributed to a powerful presence in court, on social media, in the news, at events, and many other countless measures to support Professor Lawsin and Professor Kurashige. The impact of student pressure on the University during this case was evident, which is a small win that we should celebrate.
Overall, the University’s closing arguments were filled with false statements that held no water and only served to propagate white supremacy and ableism: stating that the University adhering to the disability act is them being “generous,” and alleging that there was absolutely no discrimination at all - citing that it is not possible for people in American Culture to be discriminatory or racist because their work is “fighting for minorities and their plights.”
Further, University lawyers used some of their limited time to attempt to discredit student advocates who have been involved in these A/PIA Studies “personnel affairs,” which is fallacious when most of this campaign’s organizers are enrolled in A/PIA Studies, hold Asian American identities, and/ or are our allies. The A/PIA Studies program’s existence and growth has been and is in direct tandem to Asian American and Pacific Islander student activism, so discrediting student advocates in A/PIA Studies personnel affairs is a fallacious attack that displays a lack of understanding on how to support our program. Student activism founded HolidAPA, created the minor, has led to most every faculty expansion, including the present push for ethnic studies sub majors - though much of this work has been claimed by the University. The University’s attempt at erasure and to discredit student activism organized around A/PIA studies is not only fallacious, but also indicative of the Administration’s hypocrisy. If the students that have taken classes and minored in A/PIA Studies do not have a stake in discrimination regarding faculty that have taught and mentored individuals in the program, then the vast presence of faculty in court is completely unwarranted.
Yesterday, high ranking faculty, from former and current American Culture chair Gregory Dowd and Film, Television, & Media chair Yeidy Rivero, sat in the courtroom stands while laughing out loud to each other as our lawyer was detailing the emotional and financial damages regarding Professor Lawsin, according to multiple student accounts. From the chair of the American Culture department that houses the A/PIA Studies program, to the chair for the Film department that neither Professor Lawsin nor Professor Kurashige are affiliated to, this Administrative faculty’s exhibition of this racially charged behavior in front of A/PIA Studies students is inappropriate, especially when the University lawyers invalidate student advocates. We have been watching those who have been fighting against us and this case, and we will not forget. It is an expectation of Asian American and Pacific Islander submission to think that we would not have merit in resisting these strong, widespread institutional forces that are working against us.
The University’s contradictory strategies to manipulate A/PIA Studies were uncovered through their lawyers’ closing arguments today, which would not have been possible without the willingness of students to support this campaign for years, including now through the time of classes ending and finals. Instead of wondering why students were pushed to act, the University attempted to submit our own statements and social media posts into evidence, arguing that we were being puppeteered by Professors Lawsin and Kurashige. We have been strong advocates because Professors Emily Lawsin and Scott Kurashige are undoubtedly fighting for students, despite the accusations and arguments from the University. It is the University that is hurting students, specifically A/PIA Studies students, through this process. And as we have discovered from the depositions, students are being hurt throughout our campus at the actions and inactions of our administration. We must be prioritized, and we must continue to stand in solidarity and fight alongside faculty who fight for us. The verdict is no longer in our hands, but regardless of the result, we celebrate the education and passion that has resulted from student activism, and we look forward to continuing to work together against a University that is against us: and in support of those in our community.
Bombshells and Smoking Guns: The Mueller Report of Academia
Through an explosive civil rights lawsuit, award-winning professors Scott Kurashige and Emily Lawsin argue that newly released documents expose systematic misconduct by high-level administrators at the University of Michigan.
Based on unprecedented findings through discovery, the plaintiffs argue that UM’s procedures for investigating and remedying racial discrimination, sexual assault, and other protected class interests are not only ineffective but actually function to undermine complaints and enable retaliation against complainants. While surveys indicate over 3,000 students are sexually assaulted each year at UM, the latest annual Title IX report revealed the university conducted only twenty investigations for all forms of sexual misconduct and failed to substantiate any sexual assault violations.
Bombshell #1:
Under cross-examination, UM’s former Title IX coordinator, Anthony Walesby, admitted that information obtained from rape survivors through ostensibly “neutral” Title IX investigations could as a matter of course be shared with the UM attorneys, knowing that such information could be used against survivors in a civil court case. All this would be done without the knowledge or consent of the survivors.
From the transcript of Walesby’s deposition:
The Michigan Daily and others have reported students being dismayed and alarmed by “the runaround” they endured after filing bias complaints through the university’s Office for Institutional Equity. Plaintiffs assert there is no place where any member of the UM community can request a protected class investigation without being secretly subjected to review and intervention by UM’s lawyers. Furthermore, they argue that UM officials have wantonly abused attorney-client privilege to cover-up misconduct by administrators regarding academic appointments and other sensitive matters.
The Washtenaw County Circuit Court has ruled that Kurashige and Lawsin have won their right to go to trial against UM for discrimination and retaliation under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act. The trial is scheduled to begin July 1, 2019. Plaintiffs are represented by Detroit-based Attorney Alice B. Jennings, who has been honored by the NAACP, Black Women Lawyers Association, and National Lawyers Guild for her civil rights advocacy.
Documents from the lawsuit are on file in the public record under Case Number 16-1111-CD. We are sharing some of the most eye-opening excerpts from the over 2,000 pages recently filed, which collectively read like a Mueller report on corruption in academia. Please check this page regularly for updates.
After thirty five years of English education, English had become the language of national unity. Filipinos who spoke different local languages used English to communicate with each other.
Thompson, Roger M. Filipino English and Taglish : Language Switching From Multiple Perspectives. John Benjamins Publishing Co, 2003.
After thirty five years of English education, English had become the language of national unity. Filipinos who spoke different local languages used English to communicate with each other.
Thompson, Roger M. Filipino English and Taglish : Language Switching From Multiple Perspectives. John Benjamins Publishing Co, 2003.
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Alumni Voices: Together, We Rise — A Letter if support for Professor Emily Lawsin
By Kan Yan, University of Michigan, Class of 2008
The first time I met Professor Emily Lawsin was in college, when she was performing for a Filipino cultural event at the University of Michigan. Despite watching the fast-paced snapping of bamboo sticks in Tinikling, or the collective nail-biting that accompanies the "pandanggo sa ilaw", where dancers move with candles balanced on their heads, the most engaging performance of the entire show was not from a group, but instead, from a woman with boundless optimism and energy.
Professor Lawsin entranced her audience with her poetry, as she reminisced about her culture, embraced her American experience, and shouted down injustice. Through her spoken word performance, I could hear the suffering of our past, the anger at our mistreatment, and the hope that future generations would not have to endure the same hardships. I could see my own Chinese heritage resonate in the struggles of Filipinos/Filipinas in the United States-- that, despite our different backgrounds, we all shared the experience of being Asian-American. It was the first time I understood that the A/PIA community either rises or falls together, and that the rights of minorities are not given, but rather, hard-fought through the struggles of generations past and the painful lessons endured by our ancestors.
Professor Lawsin's performance was also a reminder of how easily those rights could be taken away: how, if the current generation is not taught about our history, and does not continue to fight for respect and understanding in the public consciousness, misguided and racist policies such as The Chinese Exclusion Act or Japanese internment camps can once again arise. Justice is earned, but division and discord are freely spread: it is much easier to sow hate than to find love for those different from you. The fabric of the United States is and has always been enriched by our diversity, as each successive wave of immigrants, including those from many Asian countries, enriches the American melting pot with their own contributions. Professor Lawsin's performance was a powerful statement that, when we reject diversity or only embrace the experience of a certain ethnic or cultural group, we are denying the very identity of America itself.
Throughout the remainder of my college career, my interactions with Professor Lawsin always affirmed the importance of diversity and the criticality of understanding the cultures, customs, and history of all of the disparate groups that make our nation great. I did not pursue a career in social activism; nonetheless, I am continually reminded of the lessons I learned from her and her impact me, to this day, in the world of engineering. As a federal civil servant working in our nation's space program, I am proud that my agency embraces and emphasizes the importance of diversity in its hiring and training. Working at the cutting edge of science and technology requires innovative ideas to address those problems that may require new inventions or processes, or to anticipate the questions that may arise years down the road based on our research path.
Every day, I observe diversity being a huge asset to the way we work: diversity in expertise and in thought process, brought forth by diversity in background and upbringing, lead to new concepts and out-of-the-box solutions. In a dynamic and changing field that requires excellence in all that we do, it allows us to continuously evolve in the way we develop our spacecraft and refine the science questions we ask. Diversity keeps us ahead as a nation. My agency's own experience with how rewarding a diverse workforce can be is based on the tireless advocacy of social justice champions such as Professor Lawsin. It is imperative that we do not backtrack on all the gains we made: the teaching of our diverse history and our continued stance against injustice are critical steps to our collective social awareness and future as a country.
- Visit the A/PIA Tumblr Page to learn more about the struggle for diversity, fairness, and inclusion faced by Professor Lawsin and students and faculty of color
- Sign the student and alumni petition to support Professor Lawsin and the future of Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies
Written by Kan Yan
University of Michigan, Class of 2008
FASA Alumnus
Aerospace Engineer, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
