Former professor Rachel Tudor was awarded a settlement of $1.1 million after being denied tenure and then fired by Southeastern Oklahoma State University (SOSU) due to her being transgender.
Tudor taught at SOSU from 2004 to 2011 and filed a lawsuit with the Department of Justice in 2015 when SOSU denied her application for promotion and tenure during the 2009-10 academic year.
Tudor was initially hired by SOSU in 2004 as an assistant professor in the school’s English department. At the time, however, Tudor was hired as a biological male, only transitioning to a woman in 2007. Subsequently, Tudor became SOSU’s first openly transgender professor.
Tudor’s application was denied, despite recommendations by tenured faculty members to grant Tudor tenure. This provoked Tudor to ask for a more transparent explanation about the denial. Upon this request for more information, Tudor was fired.
Tudor first filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, which referred her to U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the lawsuit states.
The Justice Department, then under the Obama administration, sued SOSU. Former Attorney General Eric Holder declared that federal prohibitions against sex discrimination include protections based on gender identity.
As reported by NBC News, the jury voted in Tudor’s favor “on three counts: that she was ‘denied tenure in 2009-10 because of her gender,’ that she was denied ‘the opportunity to apply for tenure in the 2010-11 cycle … because of her gender’ and that the university retaliated against her after she complained about workplace discrimination.” Tudor was awarded $1.165 million in damages.
“Southeastern Oklahoma State University places great trust in the judicial system and respects the verdict rendered today by the jury,” Sean Burrage, SOSU president, stated. “It has been our position throughout this process that the legal system would handle this matter, while the University continues to focus its time and energy on educating students.”
Troy Stevenson, executive director of LGBTQ advocacy group Freedom Oklahoma, spoke to NBC News regarding his approval of the jury’s verdict as well as the positive role it may play as a catalyst for future cases.
“It’s phenomenal news, and it’s showing that gender identity is a part of gender, and discrimination comes down to old fashioned misogyny,” Stevenson exclaimed. “The courts are seeing that.”
“I want to thank the jury for being fair, impartial and deciding the case on its merits,” Tudor stated. Isaiah Denby is a college freshman from Tampa Bay, Florida studying economics and political science.
