Former 'U' prof alleges sex discrimination

After being promoted to a tenure-track position in the University's political science department in 1992 and then denied tenure in 1997, former assistant political science Prof. Jacqueline Stevens is suing the University for sex discrimination and defamation.

In a complaint filed earlier this month in the Washtenaw County Circuit Court, Stevens named the University, political science department Chair John Jackson and political science Prof. Arlene Saxonhouse as defendants.

Neither of Stevens' attorneys, Justin Ravitz and Patricia Stamler of the Southfield law firm Sommers, Schwartz, Silver & Schwartz, could be reached for comment.

University spokesperson Julie Peterson said she could not comment on the case because the University has not yet been served the lawsuit.

According to the complaint, Stevens first alerted her colleagues to the lack of women in the political science department and the disproportionate number of men and women appointed to the College of Literature, Science and the Arts' search committees in 1996.

This was shortly after Jackson appointed 16 men and one woman - Saxonhouse - to positions on LSA employment committees, according to court documents. She then complained of gender discrimination.

In May 1997, Stevens began her evaluation for promotion to a political science tenured position.

According to the complaint, she requested that Saxonhouse be excluded from the committee that would review her tenure promotion. Stevens had helped former political science Prof. Jill Crystal in an earlier gender discrimination complaint against Saxonhouse and she feared Saxonhouse would be biased against her, the document states.

Jackson told Stevens that Saxonhouse would not serve on her committee but Saxonhouse was later elected to the final decision committee, the complaint states.

According to the complaint, Stevens is suing Jackson and the University on charges of defamation because she claims Jackson, "as an agent of the University did falsely and maliciously publish statements regarding" her.

The document goes on to say the statements hurt Stevens' reputation regarding her work and professional performance.

In November 1997, the same month in which Stevens was denied tenure, the political science department was composed of 22 tenured men and six tenured women, as well as nine tenure-track men and four tenure-track women, according to the Office of Budget and Planning's most recent tenure information for the department.

Also, according to the court document, the political science department has recommended six out of eight male candidates and one out of four women for tenure between 1991-92 and 1998.

Peterson said that either an attorney from the University's general counsel office or an office-appointed attorney from an independent firm will represent the defendants.

09-23-98