In August 2020, the world of MedTwitter was ablaze with stories about Dr. Norman Wang, a medical school professor who was abruptly “canceled” after he published a scholarly article critically examining the history of affirmative action in medical schools and graduate medical education.
He was removed from his fellowship director position and forbidden from having contact with medical students, residents, or fellows, but that was just the beginning. After a lengthy discovery, the full picture of what was done to Wang has finally come to light.
Almost as shocking as the school’s conduct is its attempt to evade First Amendment liability through an elaborate shell game in which it passed the blame onto a partner institution it claims is not a state actor. As is clear from recent filings, the University of Pittsburgh was responsible for what took place.
Punished for Opposition to Race Discrimination
Wang has been dually employed by the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) School of Medicine and by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) since 2008. Historically connected, Pitt and UPMC are closely tied by a set of relationship agreements. Pitt appoints one-third of UPMC’s board of directors, and UPMC provides financial support to the School of Medicine. Pitt and UPMC together constitute an academic medical center; Pitt oversees all academic activity, while UPMC oversees all clinical activity.
Wang, a cardiologist, sees patients at UPMC hospitals and publishes academic research. Until August 2020, he also taught medical students, residents, and fellows, and was the
