Men who escorted Sac State associate professor out of Calaveras Hall identified as university administrators
Weide Chang on leave, university says
Note left on door of computer science associate professor’s Weide Chang office in Riverside Hall, alerting students of his leave of absence. The university said he was intercepted on his way to class Wednesday, Feb 19.
February 24, 2020
The two men who escorted Sacramento State computer science associate professor Weide Chang out of Calaveras Hall Wednesday were identified as university administrators, according to an email from University Communications.
Sac State computer science major Kaleb Bello said he was walking behind Chang into Calaveras Hall — where the CSC137 class is located — when he saw two men waiting for the associate professor.
“They kind of just held him by the shoulders and escorted him down the hall,” Bello said.
He said he then went to class, where other students were already waiting for class to begin.
Bello said the department chair then came into the classroom and told students Chang will no longer be teaching the class.
“Wednesday afternoon a faculty member was intercepted on the way to teach a scheduled class, which was subsequently canceled,” Sac State Public Information Officer Anita Fitzhugh said in an email regarding Chang’s leave.
Fitzhugh said the department is in the process of finding a finalized solution to continue class instruction.
“The statement is all that can be provided due to confidentiality laws,” Fitzhugh said when asked to confirm the reason behind Chang’s leave.
A sign is currently posted to Chang’s door reading, “Professor Weide Chang is on leave of absence. Additional information is available at the Computer Science Department office.”
Chang spoke with the Sacramento Bee Monday outside of his home, and said he did not want to talk about last week’s incident, but confirmed that he is on leave.
“It’s a personal matter, that’s all,” Chang told the Sacramento Bee. “I’ll be back in a few days, or maybe a little longer.”
Administrative Support Coordinator Veronica Pruitt in the College of Engineering and Computer Science sent out an email addressing the incident Thursday morning.
“All sections of CSC/CPE 159 are canceled for (Thursday). Please keep an eye on your emails for further communication. We apologize for the inconvenience,” the email said.
Chang was the only professor teaching those class sections. According to Chang’s curriculum vitae on the Sac State website, he has been an associate professor at Sac State since 2002 and is a Sac State alumni.
Lorenzo Smith, the dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, also confirmed that Chang is on leave.
Further information was provided through the Associate Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Kevan Shafizadeh, for students concerned about their credit.
Shafizadeh said it is in the students’ best interest to stay in the class, as they will be replacing Chang. If students wish to drop the class, he said, the university will extend the withdrawal deadline so students will not receive a “W” on their transcript.
Additional reporting by Maddie Beck, Vince Castellana, Kendra Rivera-Molina, Kylie Robison and Brooke Uhlenhop.
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