ANN ARBOR, MI — A former doctoral student is suing the University of Michigan and two academic heads, alleging they discriminated against her based on her national origin.
Alumna Shuying Wang, a Chinese citizen, contends the professors intentionally delayed her graduation to interfere with a lucrative job offer and exploited her research contributions for a startup company, according to a complaint filed Sept. 14 in Washtenaw County Circuit Court.
Wang enrolled in the university’s pharmaceutical sciences Ph.D. program in 2020 on an F-1 student visa. While a student in late March 2025, Wang contends a California-based biopharma company recruited her, but that Steven and Anna Schwendeman, who have key roles in the College of Pharmacy, retaliated to keep her working in Steven Schwendeman’s laboratory…