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.
Other updates of note:
- FeminstLawProfessors, Student Describes “Black Exodus” at U Florida Levin College of Law
- FeminstLawProfessors, More on Racial Discrimination at U Florida Levin College of Law
As usual once a complaint if filed the damage is done. On red flag in the complaint is the identification of people by race in some instances and not in others, For example, none of the people in the snubbing and pushing incident are identified by race, The reader is to infer they were white. In a public document released today by a UF professor it turns out that none of the participants, assuming the incident happened at all, were white. In addition, it appear now that the person identified as stating that the School is not ready for a African American dean was misidentified. And, even more puzzling is the invocation of statements by Jonathan Cohen, an evidence teacher for goodness sake, based on what must be hearsay. Somewhere is the complaint there may be accurate facts about the dismissal but for a school that voted overwhelmingly to grant a promotion to Professor Brown, the racism angle just does not stand up,
Isn’t it funny when a law school hires liberal professors who teach their students that racism and sexism lurks behind every corner, and then is surprised when those same professors find racism and sexism at the law school itself. Cannabalism at its finest.