Professor sues Texas A&M University Alleging Sex Discrimination and Retaliation at the Qatar Campus

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Jul 31, 2023, 14:26 ET

AUSTIN, Texas, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 6, 2023, Dr. Sheela Athreya, through her attorneys at Wiley Walsh, Wiley Wheeler, and Rob Wiley, P.C. filed suit against Texas A&M University for sex discrimination and retaliation at the Texas A&M Qatar campus or TAMUQ.

According to the complaint filed in the Southern District of Texas – Houston Division, Dr. Athreya, a highly respected scholar, was actively recruited by the Liberal Arts Program Chair at the Qatar campus. The Program Chair wanted her to teach a core curriculum course there, a required course for graduation, and wanted the campus to have more women faculty. At the time her contract began, Dr. Athreya alleges she was "the only woman serving at TAMUQ from the main campus, the only woman with tenure, only one of two women in research-engaged positions (tenured/tenure track or rolling contract/track) promoted past assistant professor and one of only four women in a research engaged position at any rank."

Eight days after Dr. Athreya arrived in Doha with her family, the complaint recounts, the Dean told the Liberal Arts Program Chair that her contract would not be renewed though he had never met Dr. Athreya. The reasons for the non-renewal, based on the pleadings, were so unsatisfactory that the Program Chair filed a complaint of sex discrimination against the Dean.

This is not the first time there have been complaints of sexism at the TAMUQ campus and against its Dean per the filing. Based on one witness statement quoted in the complaint, the Dean "makes women feel uncomfortable and unsupported. Eleven or twelve female faculty have left since his arrival and five or six specifically due to Dean Malavé's treatment."

Dr. Athreya states that she is filing this lawsuit "to hold accountable the individuals who create a hostile climate for women, as well as those who shield them; because accountability is essential for change."

The case is captioned Dr. Sheela Athreya v. Texas A&M University, No. 4:23-cv-02478, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.