Federal Court Tells Southeastern Oklahoma State U. to Reinstate Transgender Professor With Tenure

Federal Court Tells Southeastern Oklahoma State U. to Reinstate Transgender Professor With Tenure

Mike wrote about transgender professor Rachel Tudor winning her discrimination lawsuit in 2017.

A federal court ruled this week that Southeastern Oklahoma State University must reinstate Tudor with tenure:

Although she was granted tenure during the 2009-10 academic year by a faculty committee of five in a 4-1 vote, the university’s administration denied her promotion to associate professor, according to a federal ruling from three judges filed in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

“Given the jury verdict in favor of Dr. Tudor, it is established — and we cannot now question — that Dr. Tudor would have been granted tenure in 2009-10 absent the discrimination,” the ruling stated. “We are instead restoring Dr. Tudor to the position she would have been in had Southeastern not engaged in prohibited discrimination against her.”

The judges also said in the 55-page ruling that a previous court had incorrectly calculated some of Tudor’s lost earnings and that the university, which is in Durant, must subsidize her attorneys’ fees, court records said.

Tudor is a transgender woman and a dual citizen of the United States and Chickasaw Nation, according to the court filing. She began working at Southeastern Oklahoma State University as an assistant professor in the English department in 2004. She started her transition in 2007, the filing said.

“Dr. Tudor is looking forward to being the first tenured Native American professor in her department in the 100-plus year history of the Native American serving institution that is Southeastern Oklahoma State University,” her attorney, Jillian T. Weiss, said in a statement.

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