Contact: Ms. Maggie Allington, Communications
Pat Washington Support Committee
(619) 582-5383
Website: http://patwashington.org

April 18, 2006
For Immediate Release

Dr. Pat Washington to Keynote AAUW Nevada State Convention

San Diego, Calif.--Dr. Pat Washington, the former San Diego State University (SDSU) women’s studies professor embroiled in a discrimination suit against the CSU Board of Trustees, will address issues surrounding her case as a keynote speaker at the American Association of University Women (AAUW) convention held in Reno, Nevada, April 21 – 23, 2006.

The title of her presentation, “Defiling the Dream: Discrimination and Retaliation in Women’s Studies,” Washington says, “captures the essence of my experiences as well as the substance of the message I plan to deliver.”

An AAUW-Legal Advocacy Fund supported plaintiff, Washington welcomes the opportunity to address the national AAUW conference about the ways in which contemporary discrimination in academia is often masked by claims that the victim didn’t meet “professional standards or wasn’t collegial” or by some other pretext that “hides the underlying motivation for the unfair treatment.”

“For years, we have struggled to put a human face on the detrimental impact academic discrimination and retaliation has on women in the academy,” says Washington. “Discrimination continues to be a fact of academic life for women of color, such as myself, who have the double whammy that comes when the perpetrators are other academic women who are hiding behind gender and feminism to carry out their discriminatory treatment.”

In a new development that Washington says underscores both the timeliness and urgency of her upcoming talk for AAUW, the California Court of Appeal yesterday denied Washington’s efforts to reverse an earlier decision granting summary judgment to defendant, CSU Board of Trustees. Essentially a refusal to allow Washington’s case to go to trial, the Court’s decision was a disappointment to plaintiff’s attorneys who have been preparing for trial since Washington was fired from SDSU in 2003, ostensibly for failing to meet new requirements for tenure and promotion imposed on her just before she had to submit her tenure application. Washington’s attorneys are preparing a challenge to the Court’s decision.

Washington filed a charge of discrimination and retaliation with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) shortly after she was denied tenure.

After a fourteen month investigation, the EEOC found “reasonable cause” to believe the university discriminated against Washington “on the basis of her race/sex combined and in retaliation for previous complaints.” The federal civil rights enforcement agency called upon SDSU to avoid costly litigation and undo the harm done to Washington by granting her immediate reinstatement, tenure and promotion, back pay and benefits. However, SDSU rejected the EEOC's proffered remedies and elected to litigate rather than make restitution.

AAUW’s Legal Advocacy Fund has provided Washington close to $20,000 in legal fees.

Washington was hired as a tenure-track assistant professor in the department of women's studies at San Diego State University in August 1996. She was the only openly lesbian, black, full-time women's studies faculty member hired in SDSU's history.

Washington won SDSU's Outstanding Faculty Award three years in a row, and published eight refereed or peer reviewed articles—four times the number of publications required for tenure at the time she was hired.

In 2002, Washington was denied tenure and promotion after complaining of a racially hostile work environment. She was officially fired from the university in May of 2003.

Since that time, Washington has steadily garnered the support of academic, feminist and civil rights/social justice organizations throughout the country. For Washington vs. CSU Board of Trustees case updates, please visit: http://patwashington.org.

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