After
a
two-year
search,
the
University
of
Arkansas
at
Fayetteville
found
its
new
law
school
dean.
Then,
a
week
later,
it
unfound
her.
Emily
Suski,
a
professor
and
associate
dean
at
the
University
of
South
Carolina’s
law
school,
was
announced
as
the
new
dean
of
the
law
school
on
January
9.
By
January
14,
the
university
had
“decided
to
go
a
different
direction
in
filling
the
vacancy”
based
on
“feedback
from
key
external
stakeholders
about
the
fit
between
Professor
Suski
and
the
university’s
vacancy.”
By
“key
external
stakeholders,”
the
school
means
conservative
politicians
seeking
cheap
headlines.
Because
the
professor
signed
onto
an
amici
brief
in
the
Idaho
and
West
Virginia
trans
student
sports
ban
cases
heard
by
the
Supreme
Court
this
week
and
with
that
story
dominating
the
news,
right-wing
lawmakers
saw
an
opportunity
to
score
points
by
torpedoing
the
law
school’s
new
dean.
The
brief
in
question,
prepared
by
Keker,
Van
Nest
&
Peters
and
Suzanne
B.
Goldberg,
the
director
of
Columbia
Law’s
Sexuality
and
Gender
Law
Clinic,
isn’t
particularly
controversial.
It
doesn’t
even
wade
into
the
Equal
Protection
issues
in
these
cases,
limiting
its
inquiry
to
the
West
Virginia
half
of
the
case,
noting
that
Title
IX
—
by
its
text
and
existing
caselaw
—
should
protect
the
student
involved
because
the
record
is
undisputed
that
they
have
not
undergone
puberty
and
are
already
undergoing
female
hormonal
puberty
treatment,
meaning
any
attempt
to
force
them
into
male
sports
puts
the
student
at
a
competitive
disadvantage
on
the
basis
of
sex.
This
involved
too
much
reading
for
the
professional
grievance
industry.
Senate
President
Pro
Tempore
Bart
Hester,
a
Republican,
explained
his
objection
to
the
Arkansas
Advocate:
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.
This
was,
of
course,
not
the
argument
in
the
brief.
But
it
does
play
to
the
Republican
fascination
with
kids’
genitals
that
continues
to
deliver
them
votes
from
the
sort
of
people
asking
Grok
to
strip
pictures
of
teen
actresses.
Alas,
as
the
Trump
administration
has
clarified,
using
AI
to
create
child
sexually
explicit
material
is
a
national
free
speech
concern
and
a
kid
joining
the
“wrong”
bowling
team
is
a
grave
concern.
Hester
also
said
he
was
“surprised
that
this
person
who
has
these
beliefs
made
it
through
the
initial
scanning
processes,”
a
telling
confession
that
Republican
lawmakers
believe
the
hiring
process
should
focus
on
theocratic
wrongthink.
The
amicus
brief
isn’t
about
“beliefs,”
it’s
about
the
legal
significance
of
puberty
in
competitive
sports
and
that,
while
male
puberty
is
the
inflection
point
that
gives
male
athletes
competitive
advantages,
all
the
parties
in
the
case
agree
that
the
student
involved
has
not
and
will
never
undergo
male
puberty.
Look,
I’m
not
going
to
pretend
law
schools
shouldn’t
consider
a
candidate’s
past
work.
If
a
candidate
for
the
job
has
a
long
history
of
posting
racial
slurs
or
something
like
that,
it
matters.
But
it
doesn’t
matter
because
that’s
the
candidate’s
beliefs,
it
matters
because
it
suggests
the
candidate
will
act
in
a
manner
that
bring
illegal
discrimination
and
a
hostile
environment
into
the
institution.
There’s
nothing
about
a
brief
outlining
Title
IX
law
and
puberty
that’s
going
to
impact
the
law
school.
Hester
insisted
he
didn’t
threaten
funding,
but
added
that
“there’s
just
a
basic
understanding
that
the
legislature
controls
the
purse
strings.”
Very
cool.
Very
not
extortion.
Governor
Sarah
Huckabee
Sanders’s
office
took
a
break
from
assuring
us
that
the
children
yearn
for
the
mines
to
praise
the
university
for
“reaching
the
commonsense
decision
on
this
matter
in
the
best
interests
of
students.”
Attorney
General
Tim
Griffin
—
who
definitely
didn’t
request
she
be
fired,
his
office
assures
us
—
“applauds
the
decision
nonetheless.”
He
just
“expressed
his
dismay
at
the
selection
and
his
confidence
that
many
more
qualified
candidates
could
have
been
identified.”
More
qualified
candidates?
They
searched
for
TWO
YEARS!
Arkansas,
this
may
be
tough
to
hear,
but…
maybe
the
problem
is
you.
The
ACLU
condemned
the
decision
to
fire
Suski:
If
state
officials
can
threaten
to
cut
funding
because
they
dislike
a
professor’s
legal
analysis,
then
no
public
employee
in
Arkansas
is
safe
to
speak
freely.
Under
this
logic,
any
public
worker
could
be
punished
for
expressing
a
belief
unless
it
has
first
been
approved
by
politicians.
That
is
not
governance
—
it
is
ideological
control.
That
is
their
goal.
Conservatives
nab
every
opportunity
to
warn
that
the
woke
mob
would
end
academic
freedom.
Then
they
ended
academic
freedom.
Every
accusation
is
a
confession.
All
that
whining
whenever
a
law
professor
is
chastised
for
using
racial
slurs
or
students
peacefully
protest
a
hate
group,
it’s
just
to
set
the
stage
for
their
more
robust
assault.
Refusing
to
tolerate
illegal
discriminatory
behavior
(at
least
illegal
on
paper
until
this
Supreme
Court
says
otherwise)
is
not
the
same
as
firing
someone
for
making
straightforward
legal
analysis
in
a
brief.
To
use
a
poster
child
of
this
right-wing
whinging,
Amy
Wax
wasn’t
disciplined
for
making
arguments
about
labor
law,
she
was
disciplined
for
bad-mouthing
minority
students.
But
these
folks
spent
years
blurring
the
distinctions
so
they
could
some
day
fire
a
professor
just
for
recognizing
that
anti-discrimination
laws
are
real.
As
State
Representative
Nicole
Clowney
put
it:
“Veiled
threats
and
comments
behind
closed
doors
about
the
political
leanings
of
University
of
Arkansas
faculty
and
staff
are
nothing
new,
sadly.
But
state
elected
officials
threatening
to
withhold
funding
to
the
entire
School
based
on
the
political
beliefs
of
the
newly
hired
Dean
is
a
new,
terrifying
low.”
Tsk
tsk.
It’s
the
worst
terrifying
low…
so
far.
Culture
warriors
cancel
new
U
of
A
law
dean
before
she
started
[Arkansas
Times]
Amid
Criticism
From
Lawmakers,
U
of
Arkansas
Rescinds
Dean
Offer
[Inside
Higher
Ed]
UPDATED:
University
of
Arkansas
withdraws
incoming
law
dean’s
offer
in
wake
of
Republican
complaints
[Arkansas
Advocate]
In
capitulating
to
political
pressure
to
fire
new
dean,
U
of
A
violated
Constitution,
ACLU
says
[Arkansas
Times]
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.
