A California Superior Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by former San Diego State University (SDSU) women’s studies assistant professor Pat Washington against the California State University and Colleges (CSU) Board of Trustees on April 8. The trail date had been slated for May 6 at the San Diego Superior Court downtown.

In 2002 the SDSU Women’s Studies department denied Washington tenure and she subsequently lost her assistant professor position in May of 2003.

Washington claims discrimination was the underlying factor that led to her tenure denial on the basis of race and sex combined and in retaliation for complaining about the discrimination and pay inequity under California state laws. Washington alleges faculty members within the department subjected her to a racially hostile work environment.

The court rejected Washington’s assertions that discrimination was the underlying factor that led to her tenure denial and stressed that although evidence may show that her colleagues did not like her, “[a] personal grudge or resentment can constitute a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for an adverse employment decision. [Washington]’s perception of a discriminatory motive is not evidence of a discriminatory intent.”

Washington said the decision by San Diego County Superior Court Judge Jay Bloom was unjust.

“I was not denied tenure and promotion because my colleagues didn’t like me. It’s ironic that the judge threw my case out of court on that flimsy excuse,” said Washington. “If we actually delve into any reasons they could possibly have for not liking me, it would be because I stood up for myself, and others, in discrimination situations.”

SDSU spokesperson Jason Foster maintains the school’s handling of the situation was appropriate and Bloom’s decision was fair.

“The judge, after looking at all the evidence presented, felt there was not enough evidence to support the claims and go to trial and ruled accordingly. The judge’s position certainly reflects the university’s position that all of the faculty and people involved followed the proper review procedures and our handling of this matter was proper,” said Foster.

Washington said Justice Bloom did not address SDSU’s discrimination and retaliation against her.

“He literally ignored those claims and didn’t give them validity so that fact that he could claim at the end of the day that it’s OK for them to fire me because my colleagues didn’t like me just shows you what a flimsy case SDSU truly has,” she said.

Washington submitted her tenure application in 2001 and claims she was the only faculty member in her department to be judged on three separate and successively more stringent sets of requirements for tenure. She also contends that she met and exceeded the revised criteria.

“When you look at what they actually use as a pretext for denying me tenure promotion is this claim that I didn’t meet university standards for professional growth, which means that I wasn’t doing well in my field producing articles and so forth, and that’s just blatantly not true,” said Washington.

After the Women’s Studies department hired Washington in 1996 as their first tenure track African-American professor, she proceeded to win six of the university’s top teaching awards, published eight refereed scholarly articles and established extensive ties to the surrounding community, receiving multiple student mentoring and community service awards. Washington won SDSU’s Outstanding Faculty Award three years in a row from 2001 to 2003.

Washington filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in July 2002. They issued findings against SDSU in September of 2003 in a letter of determination which stated there was “reasonable cause” to believe SDSU discriminated against her by denying her tenure and terminating her employment. The EEOC recommended an agreement in which SDSU reinstate Washington to faculty status and give her tenure, but the school rejected it in December 2003 and opted to decide the matter in court instead.

Washington is hopeful a jury will ultimately decide her case in court.

“I feel optimistic that once we appeal Jay Bloom’s decision and I go to trial, the truth will come out in a way that that public will see all the racial discrimination as well as the way I was retaliated against,” said Washington. “Both areas I have strong documentation and evidence that those things happened.”