Affirmative action plan unaffected by court ruling

A recent federal court decision that UW-La Crosse officials improperly applied the UW System’s affirmative action plan does not affect use of the plan on other campuses, system officials say.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb did not fault the plan but found only that the plan was improperly applied in this specific case, system officials say. Crabb ruled Wednesday, July 28, that officials cannot use the affirmative action plan as a defense in a lawsuit filed by John Ready, a white man. Ready, 42, filed suit against the Board of Regents in May 1997 after he was rejected for a tenured teaching position at UW-La Crosse.

“The case turned on the specific facts involved and will not affect the continued use of the University’s Affirmative Action Plan,” UW System General Counsel Elizabeth Rindskopf-Parker says. “While we regret Judge Crabb’s decision on the specific facts involved, we are pleased that the decision leaves undisturbed the university’s ability to consider affirmative action goals in its hiring decisions.”

Crabb says in her ruling that UW-La Crosse erred by allowing race to be the ‘deciding’ factor in the selection of a tenured faculty position.

The case now moves into the phase where issues such as damages and reinstatement will be considered. A status conference is set for Aug. 10.

No decision has been made on whether the case will be appealed. “It is too early to make this decision,” Rindskopf-Parker says.

Ready had applied for a tenure track position to teach sculpture at UW-La Crosse. Before the case came to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, Ready filed a grievance with the state Personnel Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.