Professor accused of child-porn possession is no longer with UA

A department chair at the University of Arizona’s Phoenix medical school who was charged with child pornography possession in Texas is no longer employed by UA, the university confirmed Tuesday.

Keping Xie was hired in July by UA to lead a new department focused on interdisciplinary oncology. Xie was charged with child pornography possession in August in Texas.

He was put on paid administrative leave after the charge came to light, UA previously said.

Firing a tenured professor such as Xie typically requires a lengthy disciplinary process. It wasn’t clear whether Xie faced any such process at UA.

“I can confirm he is no longer with the university,” UA spokesman Chris Sigurdson said in a statement Tuesday.

The university did not say whether Xie was fired or resigned.

Xie was a big hire for UA and was promised millions to build the Department of Interdisciplinary Oncology and further his research at UA.

But before he spent much time at the school, the charge was filed in Texas. Xie worked at the University of Texas MD Anderson as a professor of gastroenterology research when an investigation by Texas law enforcement found child pornography on an external hard drive connected to Xie’s use of the network, court documents state.

Xie’s attorney, Nathan Mays, said Xie “vehemently denies” the charge and plans to fight it.