Mawakana v. Bd. of Trs. of the Univ. of the Dist. of Columbia

926 F.3d 859 (2019) United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit 2019-06-14

civil; Title VII race discrimination (denial of academic tenure and termination); summary judgment for university reversed by CADC and remanded (result: remanded)

Facts

  1. 1 Covered entity: employer, employment agency, or labor organization satisfied conceded
    Law professor Kemit Mawakana was denied tenure and terminated by his employer, the University of the District of Columbia.
  2. 2 Protected trait: race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy/abortion), or national origin satisfied conceded
    In 2006, Mawakana, a black male, was hired by the University of the District of Columbia ("University") to serve as a law professor
  3. 4 Adverse employment action affecting compensation, terms, conditions, privileges, or status satisfied conceded
    On May 1, 2013, Mawakana received notice that he had been denied tenure and that his employment was to terminate effective August 15, 2013.
  4. 6 Employer's legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason (McDonnell Douglas step 2) satisfied conceded
    In February 2013, the subcommittee issued its assessment of Mawakana's tenure application, concluding that his scholarship was not worthy of tenure and recommending that tenure be denied.
  5. 6 Employer's legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason (McDonnell Douglas step 2) satisfied conceded
    In this case the University has proffered a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for denying Mawakana tenure.
  6. 6 Employer's legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason (McDonnell Douglas step 2) satisfied conceded
    It says he was denied tenure because his scholarship was deficient.
  7. 8 Impermissible motivating factor in mixed-motive cases (§ 2000e-2(m)) satisfied triable
    Consistent with Penn 's suggestion, we believe that Ewing and the concept of academic freedom do not entitle a university to special deference in Title VII tenure cases.
  8. 8 Impermissible motivating factor in mixed-motive cases (§ 2000e-2(m)) satisfied triable
    Specifically, we ask whether a reasonable jury could find that Mawakana's race was a "motivating factor" in the University's decision to deny him tenure.
  9. 8 Impermissible motivating factor in mixed-motive cases (§ 2000e-2(m)) satisfied triable
    But the University treated a co-authored work as inferior in assessing the application of a black candidate, Joint Appendix (JA) 1205, even though it did not do so in assessing the application of a white candidate, JA 1235-78.
  10. 8 Impermissible motivating factor in mixed-motive cases (§ 2000e-2(m)) satisfied triable
    She originally recommended Mawakana for promotion because the article was "of high quality, it reflects originality, creativity, and intellectual inquiry, and it contributes to the growth and understanding of the law," JA 1156, but she later agreed with the faculty committee's concern about Mawakana's scholarship, which resulted in its finding that the same article did not meet tenure standards, JA 397.
  11. 8 Impermissible motivating factor in mixed-motive cases (§ 2000e-2(m)) satisfied triable
    Indeed, the chairman of the faculty review committee wrote in an email to another faculty member: "After losing 4 colleagues these past months, all faculty of color, ... I am not inclined to be pressured by more of [Broderick's] efforts to clean her house."
  12. 8 Impermissible motivating factor in mixed-motive cases (§ 2000e-2(m)) satisfied triable
    Fourth , two members of the University faculty who were privy to the internal workings of the tenure review process testified that they believed the University had disfavored black professors within that process.
  13. 8 Impermissible motivating factor in mixed-motive cases (§ 2000e-2(m)) satisfied triable
    Fifth , of the eight white applicants who applied for tenure between the time Broderick became the Dean in 1999 and the time Mawakana filed suit in 2014, each one received tenure.
  14. 8 Impermissible motivating factor in mixed-motive cases (§ 2000e-2(m)) satisfied triable
    By contrast, of the seven black professors who applied for tenure within that time period, only five received tenure.
  15. 8 Impermissible motivating factor in mixed-motive cases (§ 2000e-2(m)) satisfied triable
    These five factors, taken together and viewed in the light most favorable to Mawakana , raise a plausible inference that race was a motivating factor in the University's decision to deny Mawakana tenure.