A feminist view
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Oregon daily
emerald
Thursday, February 21, 1985
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 86, Number 104
Hiring practices will receive scrutiny
By Jolayne Houtz
Of th« Kmrmld
The University's Office of Affirmative
Action is investigating the hiring prac
tices of the law school that resulted in
the resignation of Dean Derrick Bell two
weeks ago. University President Paul
Olum said at a press conference
Wednesday.
The investigation resulted in part from
requests Olum received from the Student
Bar Association and other interested in
dividuals to look into the events sur
rounding the rejection of an Asian
woman who applied for a law school
assistant professorship.
The woman was one of three can
didates the law school faculty looked at
for the position. The other two, both
white men. declined the position but the
woman was still rejected. Some people
felt she should have been offered the pro
fessorship because she was the one re
maining candidate.
“We will proceed by doing two
things,” Olum said. "The first part is be
ing sure we know the facts about what
happened. . .the second is the question
of affirmative action and the policies of
the University.”
Olum said he hopes to receive the
results of a study into the matter by Mon
day. The investigation will be conducted
by Al Okahara of the Office of Affir
mative Action, he said. ^
“The University has a strong and
powerful commitment to the principles
of affirmative action.” Olum said. “Our
basic policies are sound, but we may
have to make some local changes in how
these rules are used.”
i
Photo by Michael Clapp
University President Paul Olum met the press Wednesday to reaffirm the Univer
sity's commitment to affirmative action and anti-discrimination activities.
The purpose of the investigation is not
to turn over the existing departmental
hiring policies, Olum said, but to look at
how these hiring practices affect the
University’s affirmative action stance.
One of the major questions raised as a
result of Bell’s resignation has been
about the “substantial objection” pro
cess, allowing an unspecified number of
faculty members to raise objections to
the hiring of an applicant.
In the law school case, three faculty
members out of the approximately 16
present at the faculty meeting ultimately
objected to hiring the Asian woman, bas
ed on her lack of qualifications.
“The relevance of such a rule and the
impact it has on affirmative action con
siderations may be an important one,”
Olum said.
While Olum said he wanted the
University to do everything in its power
to recruit and train minority faculty
members, he said he wouldn’t be willing
to require that a position be filled by a
minority.
“That would be setting them up as a
token minority. . .they would be doom
ed to defeat,” Olum said.
“The events of the Penk case and the
events of the law school call for a restate
ment of our commitments {to affirmative
action),” Olum said.
The Penk case was a class-action suit
brought by faculty women at a number of
public colleges and universities against
the State Board of Higher Education.
Despite a ruling that :io systematic
discrimination exists in Oregon’s higher
education system, Olum said faculty
women should not be discouraged at the
results. “I welcome the Penk case result
because I don’t think there is systematic
discrimination,” he said. “Nonetheless,
I am aware as everyone should be that,
historically, discrimination has indeed
existed against women in our society,”
he said.
“What is crucial now is that we not
relax these concerns and that we
recognize the importance of a continued
commitment to be on guard against any
possible inequality in the treatment of
women and of minorities or other pro
tected classes,” Olum said.
Olum also expressed his personal feel
ings about the ASUO’s plan to appeal the
South African stock divestiture decision.
“1 believe in divestiture, and I’m glad
the ASUO is pursuing it,” he said.
He said the argument that businesses
should remain in South Africa because
they could help eliminate the apartheid
situation was a valid one 30 years ago
but no longer holds true today.
Penk ‘puzzled’ by ruling
By Michael Hosmar
Of the Kmerald
One of the plaintiffs in a sex-discrimination
lawsuit against the State Board of Higher Educa
tion says she’s "puzzled" with the judge's deci
sion released last Friday.
Anna Penk said she doesn’t know why U.S.
District judge Helen Frye allowed herself and two
other faculty women, all from Western Oregon
State College, to prevail on individual claims of
sex-discrimination in the class-action suit.
"There were other plaintiffs that had claims
that were just as good as ours," Penk said.
Although 19 of the 22 plaintiffs lost their
claims, Penk said the trial “is just one step in the
‘It took a long time for Galileo
to convince people that the
earth is round.. . maybe it will
take a long time for people to
believe that men are not the
center of the earth.’
— Anna Penk
right direction.”
The 22 plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Penk vs.
State Board of Higher Education, argued they
were discriminated against because of their sex in
terms of salary and promotion. Frye ruled there
was no pattern of sex discrimination in the State
Sytem of Higher Education, although she did rule
in favor of the plaintiffs on three of 58 sex
discrimination claims. The nine-month trial end
ed in November. .....
The administration at WOSC is just as puz
zled with the decision, said Peter Courtney, affir
mative action officer and assistant to the presi
dent a' WOSC.
“We’re not saying it’s a bad decision for
Western — we’re with the verdict. We’re just try
ing to right any wrongs that have occured,” he
said.
Courtney said WOSC President, Richard
Meyers, has always tried to treat women with
equity, “He (Meyers) came here in Februrary ’83,
and he’s worked hard to treat women equally in
terms of cabinet appointments.. .and athletic
programs.”
Meyers was unavailable for comment.
Frye’s decision in favor of the three WOSC
faculty women could slightly damage the institu
tion’s reputation, Courtney said. “Western has
had the greatest enrollment increases in the state,
but we don’t know how much it (Frye’s decision)
may or may not hurt us.”
"The situation at Western has not been exact
ly rosy,” Penk said, "but I don't think you can
blame it on one particlar president.” She said that
sex-discrimination has been part of the general
social structure of a society that has encouraged
discrimination.
“It took a long time for Galileo to convince
people that the earth is round, Penk said, “maybe
it will take a long time for people to believe that
men are not the center of the earth.”
At a meeting Tuesday in Salem, the plaintiffs
decided to begin preparing for their presentation
of an appeal to the decision, Penk said. The plain
tiffs will decide on what grounds to appeal after
they have thoroughly studied Frye’s opinion, she
said. , , . , ....
Petura says adieu:
Next stop Pullman
Barbara Petura. director of the University News and In
formation Service, spent her last day on the job Wednesday
conducting University President Paul Olum's monthly press
conference.
Petura. who has been at the University six years, will go
to Washington State University to accept a similar position.
“It's bittersweet to leave. The job is definitely a great
career opportunity, and it was very, very hard to turn it
down." Petura said.
Olum credited Petura with “keeping me out of trouble,
telling me what to do. . . and getting me to my appointments
on time.
Every once in awhile, you have a person so good that
their loss is devastating, and Barbara is one of those. ” Olum
said.
Photo by Michael Clapp