A divided federal appeals court has let stand a ruling in favor of Ohio’s Miami University in a racial discrimination suit by a Black engineering faculty member who failed to win tenure.
By a 2-1 vote, the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals refused to reinstate the suit filed by Dr. Marvin Thrash, who joined the Department of Paper Science and Engineering as an opportunity hire in 2004.
For Thrash’s first four annual reports from the department’s promotion and tenure committee criticized him for having too few peer-reviewed journal articles and lack of external funding, the decision said. His fifth-year reviews were better, praising him for an improved record of publications.
When he applied for tenure, Thrash proposed the names of external reviewers. However, conflicts arose between him and the chair of his department, who alleged said he would not select any HBCU faculty members as reviewers.
Even so, four of the six reviewers who were ultimately chosen were African-American, the decision said. Four reviewers recommended tenure and the other two made no recommendation either way and reached opposite conclusions about the quality and originality of his research.
The department committee recommended tenure but the chair disagreed, saying Thrash failed to establish a “robust research program.” The dean and the university promotion and tenure committee sided with the chair.
Thrash filed a Title VII employment discrimination suit that was dismissed without trial.
