As legal battle continues, Tung awarded on campus

Former Associate Management Professor Rosalie Tung -- whose sexual and racial discrimination charges against the University are still pending -- was recognized by the University's Association of Women Faculty and Administrators yesterday for her outstanding contributions to women and minorities. Tung received the Leonore Williams Award which is given each year to the female professor who makes "outstanding contributions to her profession, her university, and her community." Tung has been involved in a five-year long suit with the University which began when she charged that the University denied her tenure in 1985 because of her race and sex. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is currently investigating Tung's claims. The EEOC filed suit after the University refused to submit confidential peer reviews, and the case eventually ended in the Supreme Court. The Court ruled against the University in January, saying that the administration must submit Tung's confidential peer review documents to the EEOC. AWFA Chairperson Louise Shoemaker said last night that Tung received the award because of her courage in fighting discrimination. "She not only showed courage in going ahead and working over a long time to bring about action for herself, but she has brought help for all women and minorities," Social Work Professor Shoemaker said. The plaque given to Tung also acknowledges her "extraordinary efforts to promote equal opportunities for women and for minority groups." AWFA member and Microbiology Professor Helen Davies presented the award to Tung, saying that the Supreme Court decision made everyone fighting discrimination at the University "incredibly happy." "It is a world-shaking event and it is because one human being said . . . I will persist," Davies said. Upon receiving her award, Tung said that she viewed the Supreme Court's ruling "not as a personal victory, but as a victory for all women and minorities." In the January decision, the Supreme Court justices failed to rule on redaction -- a process by which the names and other identifiable characteristics are erased from files. The administration complied with the ruling last month but redacted the reviews before submitting them, an action which the EEOC said will make the files useless. Tung, who is now a distinguished professor at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, said yesterday that she thinks the University's actions are hindering the judicial process. "It is outrageous for the University to try to make a farce of the [Supreme Court] decision by redacting the documents," Tung said. "The complete documents will show that in fact I have been discriminated against." Tung added that she will continue to pursue her case even though she thinks the "administration is dragging its feet." "I will fight as long as the University has not rectified this unjustice," Tung said. Also awarded at yesterday's ceremony were the seven recipients of the Alice Paul Award, an honor bestowed on undergraduate and graduate students excelling in leadership, scholarship, and contributions to the community. The AWFA awarded College seniors Suzanne Maloney, Elizabeth Dominik and Elena Maria Mortemore, School of Arts and Sciences graduate students Abby Schrader and Ann Cubilie, and Law School students Ann Bartow and Storm Jamison.

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