For Immediate Release
Contact: Pat Washington, PhD
Email: PatWashingtonPhd@aol.com
Phone: (619) 582-5383

October 16, 2007

Speaker for Upcoming WAGE Forum Wins $3.5 Million Out of Court Settlement

San Diego, CA. Milutinovich vs. CSU-Fresno was scheduled for trial later this month; however, this week CSU agreed to pay ex-associate athletic director Diane Milutinovich $3.5 million in an out of court settlement, rather than face another high profile courtroom loss for flagrant Title IX violations. Milutinovich, who joins ex-head volley ball coach Linda Vivas in receiving multi-million dollar awards to compensate for gender discrimination at Fresno State, will be a featured speaker at the upcoming We Advocate Gender Equity (WAGE) Forum at the Malcolm X Library on Saturday, October 20, 2007.

In addition to Milutinovich, the speakers’ line-up for the WAGE Forum includes Oakland Attorneys Dan Siegel and Anne Weills, who represent Milutinovich, Vivas and other Title IX plaintiffs who have won or have cases pending against the CSU system, and Dr. Marilyn Dudley-Flores, Scholar-Activist for Educational Equity and Reform. The Forum, “Collectively Challenging Gender Discrimination in Higher Education,” will be held in the Community Room of the Malcolm X Library from 9am- 5:00pm on October 20, 2007. The Malcolm X Library is located at 5148 Market Street, San Diego, CA 92115

Addressing the significance of the recent string of Title IX victories against the California State University, WAGE Co-Chair Pat Washington expressed optimism that educational systems in California “may be more appropriately responsive to claims of discrimination and harassment now, rather than turning a blind eye to, or even abetting, inequitable treatment based on sex, race, or any other protected group status.” According to Washington, “These two recent awards—nearly $6 million to Vivas and another $3.5 million to Milutinovich since July 2007—should serve as wake up call to the CSU and the State Legislature. The California taxpayer should not have to keep footing the bill for state sanctioned discrimination.” Echoing this sentiment, Dr. Dudley-Flores observed that the WAGE forum will “help educators, students, community leaders, and members of the legal community better understand the events that force victims of gender discrimination to take legal action against their employers—and, with this understanding, to advocate for the elimination of discrimination rather than allowing for its coverup.

Co-sponsors of the October 20th WAGE forum include San Diego Concilio for Higher Education, Filipino American Community Empowerment (FACE), San Diego Democratic Women’s Club, and Women in Higher Education (WIHE)

The WAGE Forum free and open to the public. A luncheon buffet will be available to attendees for $15.00 in advance and $20 at the door. The public may attend the forum without purchasing the buffet lunch. For more information or to reserve for lunch buffet, call (619) 582-5383 or email PatWashingtonPhD@aol.com. To learn more about WAGE, please visit our website: www.wage.org or http//:patwashington.org.