U.S. court judge rules for UA in racism lawsuit

A terminated UA professor will continue fighting to regain her job, despite a recent federal court ruling in favor of the university.

Tolagbe Ogunleye, former Africana Studies professor, filed a lawsuit against the Arizona Board of Regents May 20, claiming her employment was not renewed based on racial and gender discrimination.

Following a preliminary hearing June 9, U.S. District Court Judge John M. Roll Thursday released a ruling stating that Ogunleye's case "failed to demonstrate a likelihood of success."

If Roll had ruled in her favor, Ogunleye would have returned to her position until the lawsuit eventually went to a jury.

"I don't believe it was a fair ruling by any stretch of the imagination," she said. "The fight continues."

The ruling stated that she did not prove the merits of her case or that any irreparable harm was done to her - the two requirements in a preliminary hearing.

Although her attorney Don Awerkamp was out of town, Ogunleye said she not only plans to continue the lawsuit, but will appeal the preliminary ruling.

She claims that Acting Director Julian Kunnie, Dean of Humanities Charles Tatum and University of Arizona Provost Paul Sypherd harassed her and did not renew her contract based on her race and gender.

The recent lawsuit is the latest in a series of racial accusations within the Africana Studies program.

Controversy began when Kunnie's predecessor, Mikelle Omari, raised similar complaints against Tatum after he removed her from the director position in 1996. Tatum would not comment on the matter.

Since then, Ogunleye and the core faculty of the program have protested Kunnie's leadership and requested Omari's return.

Sypherd said during the hearing that Ogunleye was terminated because she was a disruptive force in the program, and a non-tenured professor.

University attorney Lynne Wood said UA officials are pleased with the ruling, and feel it was a well-argued case.

While Wood said she expected the lawsuit to continue, Roll's judgment is a "positive for the university."

Ogunleye said the ruling was unfair because Roll did not consider a May release by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission stating that the university "has a pattern of terminating black American females from their positions."

"He just completely ignored that," Ogunleye said. "The university has a track record of discriminatory practices."

Roll stated in his judgment that he overlooked the EEOC ruling because the investigators never interviewed Sypherd or Tatum.

She also said her name was placed on memos she had never seen.

Although she plans to move back to her former home in Philadelphia, Ogunleye still hopes to regain her position at the UA.

She also wrote a letter to President Clinton, listing her history with the UA and asking him to intervene in the matter.

"Many people believe that the university has too much power - most of which is abused - and that it is useless for me to expect justice. However, I trust you, and I know that you can help me," an early draft of her letter stated.

Ogunleye said she hopes the letter will bring publicity and greater attention to what she considers an ongoing problem within the university.