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COOK COUNTY RECORD

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Northwestern University accused of discriminatory hiring practices

Federal Court
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American universities' faculty hiring practices are under scrutiny as a new lawsuit alleges systemic discrimination. The Faculty, Alumni, and Students Opposed to Racial Preferences (FASORP) filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on July 2, 2024, against Northwestern University and several of its officials.

The lawsuit claims that Northwestern University has been engaging in illegal discriminatory hiring practices favoring women and racial minorities over more qualified white male candidates. FASORP asserts that these practices violate federal anti-discrimination laws, including Title VI, Title IX, and 42 U.S.C. § 1981. The complaint highlights specific instances where distinguished legal scholars like Eugene Volokh and Ernie Young were allegedly overlooked due to their race and gender while less qualified candidates were hired based on diversity considerations.

According to the complaint, this pattern of discrimination has been entrenched at Northwestern Law School since at least 2012 when then-Dean Daniel Rodriguez implemented a mandate to hire non-white and non-male faculty candidates aggressively. This mandate purportedly led to the exclusion of highly qualified white male candidates from consideration. For instance, during the 2022-2023 academic year, Professor Volokh expressed interest in joining Northwestern but was not even invited for an interview despite support from many faculty members. The appointments committee chaired by Rodriguez allegedly blocked his candidacy solely because he is a white man.

The complaint also points out other cases such as Professor Ilan Wurman’s rejection despite unanimous recommendation from the appointments committee due to opposition led by Associate Dean Sarah Lawsky based on his race and gender. Additionally, it cites instances where unqualified candidates like Destiny Peery and Candice Player were hired due to their race and gender despite concerns about their academic records.

FASORP seeks multiple forms of relief from the court including declaratory judgments that Northwestern's practices violate federal laws, permanent injunctions preventing further discriminatory practices in faculty hiring and law review selections, and orders requiring Northwestern to adopt merit-based selection policies free from considerations of race or sex. They also request the appointment of court monitors to oversee compliance with these new policies.

Representing FASORP are attorneys Jonathan F. Mitchell from Mitchell Law PLLC along with Judd E. Stone II, Christopher D. Hilton, Ari Cuenin from Stone | Hilton PLLC, and Gene P. Hamilton from America First Legal Foundation.

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