A professor who teaches political science at a Chicago university is suing the school for racial discrimination. Seung-Whan Choi claims that his superiors at the University of Illinois at Chicago forced him to teach statistics courses when he has no qualifications in math. He claims that he was chosen only because he is Asian.
Choi, who was born in Korea but is now a U.S. citizen, filed his lawsuit against the school at the Chicago courts on Tuesday. He stated in the document what the school officials told him about his teaching assignment.
"Asians, especially Koreans are very good at mathematics and statistics," Choi recounted, according to Chicago Tribune. The school apparently also assigned him to teach Korean politics even as he knows he lacked the formal education for the specific subject.
Choi's problems with the school actually started after he was fired then rehired with tenure in 2011. Since then, he claims to have been excluded and denied of salary raises, promotions and other opportunities compared to other professors of political science at the university.
The school's official website indicates that Choi has been part of the faculty since 2004, after receiving his PhD in political science in 2002 at the University of Missouri. He has also worked on several articles, papers and books about international politics.
Professor from Korea sues University of Illinois at Chicago, alleging race discrimination. https://t.co/XetmqGYz4q
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) December 28, 2016
"They don't like Korean-Americans," Choi told news outlets, adding that it was expected of him to submit to his former Caucasian supervisor, Dennis Judd. Choi alleged that Judd also changed the grade of one of his Korean-American students without informing him.
The university has a new political science department head in Evan McKenzie. He has yet to respond to the lawsuit and the reports, according to Next Shark.
The professor's lawyer has not divulged what type of restitution he is demanding from this lawsuit. Apparently, Choi's health also suffered as a result of the office politics in his department. The professor has been unmotivated to report to work a few times.
