U.S. District Court judge had ruled in favor of FHSU
By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
A former female instructor has filed an appeal in a case against Fort Hays State University that alleges age and sex discrimination.
Carolyn Anderson was a temporary instructor in the Department of Economics, Finance and Accounting at FHSU from 2014 to 2019.
Anderson, 75, applied for a tenure-track position at the university, but a 35-year old male was hired for the position.
Anderson, who recently completed her Ph.D., alleges in her suit she was more qualified than Gyebi Kwarteng, who only had a master's degree at the time and was on track to finish his Ph.D.
She is seeking more than $178,000 in lost wages, $16,500 in health and retirement benefits, $20,000 in moving expenses, $20,000 on loss of value on her home in Hays and $300,000 in punitive damages.
The university in its response said Anderson was never promised a tenure-track position. Her position was eliminated when it hired Kwarteng to the tenure track because the position was no longer needed.
U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Crabtree dismissed the count on age discrimination in February 2021.
On July 1, the court dismissed the second count of sex discrimination.
Crabtree in his memorandum and order said Anderson had not provided enough factual evidence to prove the sex discrimination claim.
Crabtree noted although Kwarteng had fewer qualifications in some areas, he scored higher than Anderson in other areas valued by the hiring committee.
Anderson applied twice for the tenure-track position. In the second round of interviews, she did not make the top four candidates.
The court found "the defendant determined that plaintiff wasn't the best candidate for the position and other candidates were better qualified," according to court records.
On July 26, Anderson filed an appeal of Crabtree's ruling. A hearing in the appeal has yet to be scheduled.
Hays Post contacted both representatives of Fort Hays State University and Anderson's attorney. Both parties declined to comment on the case at this time.