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SMU faculty lawsuit alleges Indian-origin favoritism in promotions
Assistant Professor Sean Wang has sued Southern Methodist University after being denied tenure
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Tue, 12, May 2026
- 01:55 EDT
- 25
Sean Wang and Hemang Desai / SMU
Chinese American Assistant Professor Dr. Sean Wang has accused Indian American professor Dr. Hemang Desai, chair of the accounting department at Southern Methodist University's Cox School of Business, of racial bias and subsequently sued the Texas university.
Filed last year, the lawsuit claimed that Wang was denied tenure in 2024 despite being qualified, while three Indian-origin professors were granted tenure by Desai’s department.
The lawsuit has now come to light after a report by journalist Chris Brunet.
In his lawsuit, Wang said SMU failed to honor its own policy of being an equal opportunity employer and failed to “take necessary action to prevent or correct discrimination.”
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Wang cited the Promotion and Tenure Manual of the Cox School of Business, which states that the productivity standard for tenure is “at least four (4) top-tier publications within the six (6) year probationary period.”
Wang claimed that since Desai became a full professor, the department has granted tenure to 100% of Indian-origin candidates (two of two) who met the published “four top-tier publications” standard, while denying tenure to 100% of non-Indian candidates (zero of five) who met the same standard.
Wang, however, was denied tenure despite having published 10 articles in top-tier journals, more than double that of any other Cox School faculty member in the department's history at the time of their tenure application.
Additionally, Wang said he was confronted by Desai and two other Indian-origin faculty members who told him he was a “bad fit” for the department because of his behavioral research methodology and should voluntarily resign, despite recently receiving a successful review and being awarded a second contract by SMU in his third year there.
Wang countered this and claimed in the lawsuit, “The ‘bad fit’ rationale was pretextual, as Dr. Wang’s behavioral research papers were prominently featured in letters to Dr. Desai and SMU accounting department regarding his 2017 job application materials and had been publicly available and circulating in the profession for nearly a decade before 2022.”
Another accusation against SMU is that Indian American professors were given office spaces with better views, while East Asian faculty members were assigned to a “Chinese ghetto” down the hall in the department's new building in 2024.
The university denied all allegations in its response filing and said Dr. Wang is not entitled to any relief.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
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