Legal Advocacy Fund Cases
Kern v. University of Notre Dame
Case History
Beth Kern, a former assistant professor in the Department of Accounting at the University of Notre Dame's College of Business Administration, sued the university for sex discrimination in the denial of tenure in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and pay inequity in violation of Title VII and the Equal Pay Act of 1963.
Kern began her employment at Notre Dame as an instructor in 1985. She obtained the position of tenure-track assistant professor the following year. She alleged that throughout her employment, she other female faculty in the College of Business Administration were subjected to a hostile work environment and were assigned extra duties and responsibilities than were their male colleagues
In 1993, the university denied Kern tenure. She alleged that the hostile work environment and disparate treatment that she and other female faculty faced within the College of Business Administration affected their abilities to achieve sufficient qualifications for tenure. At the time of her tenure denial, the university had never granted tenure to a woman on the faculty of the College of Business Administration.
Kern filed suit in federal court in 1996. She reached a confidential settlement with the university two years later.
Key Issues
Sex discrimination in the denial of tenure in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and pay inequity in violation of Title VII and the Equal Pay Act of 1963.