Feng “Franklin” Tao, a Chinese American chemical engineer, has initiated a second legal action against the University of Kansas, claiming the institution retaliated against him in connection with his earlier lawsuit, according to reporting from The Kansas Reflector.
Tao was indicted in 2019 under the Trump administration’s China Initiative and convicted in 2022 on three counts of wire fraud and one count of making false statements. He was never charged with espionage. Following an appeal, Tao was fully acquitted of all charges in 2024.
In January 2025, Tao filed his first lawsuit against the university, alleging discrimination and seeking reinstatement to his tenured faculty position. That case remains active. His second lawsuit, filed in July, contends that university officials engaged in retaliatory conduct by refusing to reinstate him to his full tenured status and by appointing individuals without tenure to the faculty rights board reviewing his case. University policy requires that such boards consist exclusively of tenured faculty members, according to the complaint filed by Tao.
Instead of seeking reinstatement in the second lawsuit, Tao is pursuing back pay and compensation for emotional and reputational damages. In April, he accepted a nontenured faculty position at the University of Arizona, which he is set to begin this fall, the complaint indicates.
The University of Kansas has not provided comment on either lawsuit or the allegations raised against it.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI