Professors, students say ‘no’ to Florida as new law targets Chinese
- The law requires colleges and universities to get approval before hiring or working with Chinese people who aren’t US citizens or green card holders
- A legal challenge filed by two graduate students and a professor argues, among other things, that the state law usurps the power of the federal government
Academics are starting to vote with their feet after Florida enacted a law that makes it harder for public schools in the state to hire Chinese students and collaborate with Chinese institutions.
Last year, with an eye to curb Chinese influence in the state, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill requiring state colleges and universities to get government approval before they hire or work with Chinese people who aren’t US citizens or green card holders.
Since then, schools in the state have scrambled to comply. In December, Miami-based Florida International University paused the hiring of Chinese and citizens of six other “countries of concern” also targeted by the law – Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela – while waiting for the state university system’s board of governors to create a vetting process.
But, even as a lawsuit contesting the measure plays out, critics of the law doubt that the two bodies overseeing approvals – the state university system’s board of governors and the state board of education – will give students and researchers a fair assessment since members of both are appointed by DeSantis.
“Requiring the board of governors’ approval means it is next to impossible to obtain approval,” said Sumi Helal, a professor of computer and information science and engineering at the University of Florida.
Helal said he was “intent on leaving” the school.