Legal Commentary

Updates on Sex/Race Bias Suit Against UF Law

By Professor University of Miami School of Law

Some updates to my previous post, UF Law Professor Files Sex/Race Discrimination Lawsuit:

• Paul Caron has the most extensive updates, including a link to a public email from Florida Dean Bob Jerry, which says, among other things,

  At this time, I am at liberty to say that the allegations of discrimination in this case are unfounded. We will be responding vigorously to this complaint, and we will provide a copy of our response when we do. There are important facts with bearing on this case that will come out when we submit our response.

• Earlier, in Former Florida Law Prof Comments on Racial and Sexual Discrimination Lawsuit Against School and Dean Prof. Caron wrote, “Ms. Russell-Brown has sent me the following clarification:”

  I just wanted to clarify one point for your blog that was not covered by the National Law Journal article, but which is addressed in my complaint.

  I went on leave from the UF College of Law in August 2004, in order to meet the 2-year residency requirement for a DPhil in public international law at the University of Oxford (UK). It was while I was overseas that I felt more comfortable, as a “tenure-accruing” faculty member, speaking up about some of the statements and/or comments that I was hearing. I returned from leave back to Gainesville in January 2007, which is when I began to experience the difficulties resulting in my departure by the end of that year, December 31, 2007.

  However, while I was on leave and at Oxford for my doctoral studies, from August 2004 until December 2006, my “tenure clock” stopped, along with my publication obligation, and was “re-started” when I returned to academic service at the UF College of Law in January 2007. Consequently, my complaint does not allege that I was “passed over” for tenure consideration, in the sense of being denied tenure, but rather that I was not allowed to continue in my “tenure-accruing” position starting from January 2007, until the end of my “tenure probationary period” in 2009-2010 - that my “tenure clock” was unlawfully stopped on December 31, 2007, in retaliation for my disclosures, and I was not allowed to be considered for tenure in 2009-2010, as UF faculty regulations provide.

• FeminstLawProfessors, Student Describes “Black Exodus” at U Florida Levin College of Law
• FeminstLawProfessors, More on Racial Discrimination at U Florida Levin College of Law

Full post as published by Discourse.net on February 10, 2009 (boomark / email).