Legal Advocacy Fund Cases
Clinger v. New Mexico Highlands University
Case History
Catherine Clinger, a former assistant professor of art at New Mexico Highlands University, sued the university for sex discrimination in the denial of tenure in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and other claims under both federal and New Mexico state laws .
Clinger was hired in 1992 and served in a probationary tenure-track position. The university renewed her annual contract each academic year through 1996. In the fall of 1996 , Clinger submitted her tenure application for review. Her department unanimously recommended her for tenure, and the dean of the university’s college of arts and sciences and the vice president for academic affairs affirmed this recommendation. However, despite these recommendations, the university’s board of regents rejected Clinger’s application for tenure. In its reasoning, the board claimed that Clinger lacked one of the terminal degrees required for the position, ignoring both her 16 years of professional experience and her qualification as master printer. “Master printer” was a designation recognized in her field as superior to a master’s degree.
Clinger alleged that the university’s reasons for denying her tenure were a pretext for underlying discriminatory reasons. Specifically, she cited that the university granted tenure to a male candidate who had fewer qualifications and also to faculty who did not possess the relevant terminal degrees in their disciplines. In addition, Clinger asserted that the university’s advertisement for her position stated that the candidate should possess either a terminal degree or “equivalent experience and professional record in printmaking." Clinger requested that the university perform an internal review of her allegations, which it declined to do. Instead, the university offered Clinger a terminal contract, which ended in 1997.
Clinger filed a complaint in federal court in 1997. The court granted the university’s motion for summary judgment in 1999, dismissing the complaint. Clinger appealed the court’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, which affirmed the decision of the lower court in 2000. She then appealed only her claims under the First Amendment (and not her sex discrimination claims) to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 2001 declined to hear her case.
Sex discrimination in the denial of tenure in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and retaliation in violation of Title VII.