From the Arkansas Advocate:
The University of Arkansas abruptly revoked its offer to the incoming dean of its law school after key Republicans complained about her background and legal position on protections for transgender athletes.
The school cited “key external stakeholders” in its decision to withdraw its offer to Emily Suski less than a week after she had been announced as the law school’s new dean.
A UA spokesperson did not return requests for comment Thursday morning, but the university said in a statement that it “decided to go a different direction in filling the vacancy” following feedback “about the fit” between Suski and the university’s vacancy.
Suski did not return requests for comment Thursday morning.
“University officials are very grateful for Professor Suski’s interest in the position and continue to hold Professor Suski in high regard,” the statement reads. “We wish Professor Suski well as she moves forward with her career.”
The move comes as Republican lawmakers in Arkansas and elsewhere have taken steps to restrict what can be taught in the classroom. Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who has advocated for prohibiting transgender athletes, has complained about schools indoctrinating students.
One of the lawmakers who objected to Suski’s appointment was Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, a Cave Springs Republican.
“There’s no way the people of Arkansas want somebody running and educating our next generation of lawyers and judges [to be] someone that doesn’t understand the difference between a man and a woman,” said Hester, who also cited her position on transgender athletes as a concern.
Suski had been one of 17 law professors who had signed on to a brief defending transgender students’ right to play on the teams of their gender identity. The brief was filed before the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard a pair of cases about state laws banning transgender athletes.
Arkansas has a similar law in effect.
“Although Title IX does not guarantee a student a right to win or even make the team, supra, it does protect every student from being denied the benefits of school sports based on sex, including sex-based generalizations that do not apply to them,” the brief Suski joined said.
Hester said he was surprised that “this person who has these beliefs made it through the initial scanning processes.” He also said he heard from several concerned individuals as soon as Suski’s selection was made public.
Hester said he didn’t threaten to withhold funding, but “there’s just a basic understanding that the legislature controls the purse strings.”
Republican Attorney General Tim Griffin also had raised concerns about Suski, his office said.
“The Attorney General simply expressed his dismay at the selection and his confidence that many more qualified candidates could have been identified,” spokesperson Jeff LeMaster said. “He never requested or even contemplated that the offer be rescinded, but he applauds the decision nonetheless.”
Sam Dubke, a spokesperson for Sanders, wouldn’t say whether the governor was involved in the university’s decision.
“Governor Sanders appreciates the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, for reaching the commonsense decision on this matter in the best interests of students,” Dubke said in a statement.
Rep. Nicole Clowney, a Fayetteville Democrat and adjunct lecturer at the law school, said in a social media post that she was concerned about the university’s aboutface.
“I am still gathering information but based on what I’ve learned so far, it seems clear that what happened is a horrifying, unprecedented, and absolutely unconstitutional abuse of state power,” Clowney said.
Suski is a professor and associate dean at University of South Carolina’s Joseph F. Rice School of Law. Suski’s areas of expertise include education law, particularly Title IX and civil rights in public schools; health and poverty law; and clinical legal education, according to her USC biography. She holds degrees from Georgetown University Law Center and the University of North Carolina.
