March 8, 2004

AAUW Joins Other Feminist & Civil Rights Groups In Supporting Dr. Pat Washington's Discrimination Claim Against San Diego State University

San Diego, CA.  The American Association of University Women has just announced that it is joining the growing ranks of feminist academic and civil rights organizations calling on San Diego State University to reinstate Dr. Pat Washington, who was denied tenure and terminated in 2003 after complaining of a racially hostile work environment.

According to Michele Warholic Wetherald, President of the AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund (LAF) Board of Directors, LAF will make a donation to help with Washington's legal expenses and publicize the case through national press releases and AAUW and LAF printed and online media. A synopsis of Washington's case will soon be available on LAF's website at www.aauw.org/laf .

AAUW has more than 100,000 members and more than 1,300 branches nationwide. The AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund provides funding and a support system for women seeking judicial redress for sex discrimination in higher education. Since 1981, LAF has awarded more that $1,000,000 in support of cases like Washington's.

Charity Hirsh, Co-Founder of WAGE (We Advocate Gender Equity)—an organization fighting sex discrimination in the University of Caalifornia system—sees the support of AAUW's Legal Advocacy Fuund as an important milestone in Washington's two-year battle with SDSU. “With the addition of AAUW to the growing list of established and well-respected academic and civil rights organizations supporting Professor Washington's case, university administrators at both the campus and system level would be wise to use their resources to prevent discrimination, rather than defend it. Defending employees who have discriminated is a losing position that will damage the University's reputation for years to come. I hope San Diego State University will settle this case promptly and fairly, thus minimizing the damage to Professor Washington's career and the University's reputation.”

In addition to WAGE and AAUW, Dr. Washington's case has garnered the support of the National Women's Studies Association (and its affiliated Academic Discrimination Advisory Board, Anti-White Supremacy Task Force, and Women of Color Caucus); the National Center for Lesbian Rights; Sociologists for Women in Society; California Alliance for Pride and Equality; California Black Faculty Association; California Coalition for Women Prisoners; California Faculty Association; California-NOW; For Chicano/a Studies Foundation; Lambda Letters Project; Asian Pacific Islander AIDS Project of San Diego; Associated Students of San Diego State University; Imperial Court De San Diego; San Diego Branch NAACP; San Diego Chapter Peace and Freedom Party; and San Diego Concilio for Higher Education.