Carnegie Mellon University says Nigerian-born professor Uju Anya is on voluntary professional leave and will not teach on campus during the current academic year, as the institution reviews what it described as recent “hostile and threatening” social media posts by the academic.
The university issued the statement amid controversy surrounding posts attributed to Anya on X, including a widely circulated screenshot in which she appeared to write, “Die first, white man, then ask yourself why I’m dancing.”
“We are deeply concerned by recent hostile and threatening social media posts by Dr. Anya and are reviewing this matter closely,” Carnegie Mellon University said. The institution added that Anya is “currently on voluntary professional leave from the university and is not teaching courses on our campus this academic year.”
In a further statement, the university distanced itself from the posts and said they did not reflect its position. “To be clear: These posts incorrectly imply our university’s endorsement and are contrary to our community standards and values as well as our commitment to fostering a safe, respectful and welcoming campus community,” the university said.
The controversy also attracted the attention of Elon Musk, who reacted on X to a post concerning Anya by writing, “This is a real professor at Carnegie Mellon University …” Another X user whose post Musk shared claimed to be speaking with a lawyer about what the user characterised as a “death threat.”
Carnegie Mellon has not said that Musk’s intervention prompted Anya’s leave, and its statement describes her absence as voluntary. The university also has not announced that she has been suspended, dismissed or subjected to another disciplinary sanction over the posts. Anya, an associate professor of second-language acquisition at Carnegie Mellon University, has previously attracted controversy over comments posted on social media.
In 2022, she drew widespread criticism over remarks made as Queen Elizabeth II was dying. In 2024, she also attracted attention after posting “It was staged” following an assassination attempt on Donald Trump. At the time, Carnegie Mellon said faculty comments on personal social media accounts did not represent the institution’s views.
The university has not identified every recent post included in its current review or specified what action, if any, could follow. As of the latest available report, Anya had not publicly responded to Carnegie Mellon’s statements about the review.