A University of Michigan-Flint professor who recently filed a Title IX complaint against Syracuse University amended his allegations in late December to also target an SU mentorship program for women of color in STEM.

The professor, Mark Perry, updated his Nov. 25 complaint to accuse SU of discriminating against men and white students by running the WiSE Women of Color in STEM program.

The Daily Orange published a story about Perry’s original Title IX complaint on April 17 after obtaining the document under the Freedom of Information Act. Perry initially claimed that SU was discriminating against boys and men by running three girls- and women-only STEM programs: the IT Girls Overnight Retreat, the Women in Science and Engineering Future Professionals Program and the WiSE Postdocs program.

But emails show that Perry also asked an Office for Civil Rights attorney to add the WiSE Women of Color in STEM program to his complaint on Dec. 23, having noticed it on SU’s website. The program provides mentorship opportunities to female undergraduate and graduate students of color.

In a follow-up interview last week, the professor said he previously forgot to tell a D.O. reporter about the amendment because he has lodged dozens of similar Title IX and Title VI complaints against colleges around the country.

“I’ve filed more than 125,” said Perry, who is white. “It’s just kind of hard keeping track.”

The U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation at SU last month in response to Perry’s allegations, including those he filed over the fourth program.

“These laws are in place to protect everybody’s rights,” he said, “so when someone’s rights are violated, then that has to be taken seriously, regardless of whether that person is white or Black, male or female.”

Title IX bans sex discrimination at public and private schools that receive federal funding. Title VI bans discrimination based on race, color or national origin.

Tanyka Barber, who was Morgan State University’s top diversity and equal opportunity officer from 2014 to 2018, said colleges are taking notice of complaints like Perry’s.

“They’re concerned about having to scrap their programs” potentially, said Barber, a senior associate at consulting firm TNG LLC.

Sarah Scalese, senior associate vice president for university communications, in a statement said SU takes its Title IX and Title VI obligations seriously and intends to defend the programs under investigation.

That’s a relief to Pamela McCauley, a professor at the University of Central Florida who was named the 2019 Technologist of the Year by Women of Color magazine.

“It’s just frustrating, very frustrating,” she said of Perry’s complaint. “I think programs such as this are so, so important. And we need even more.”

McCauley, a biomechanics expert, said the University of Oklahoma’s Minority Engineering Program was “extremely instrumental” in her studies at school.

“They told me I was the first African American woman to get a Ph.D. in engineering in the entire state,” she said. “And it’s been sad, because I don’t think there have been many that have come after me. … The entire state of Oklahoma. In 1993. Isn’t that sad?”

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MORE COVERAGE:

• SU is under federal investigation for alleged sex discrimination against men
• 2 Title IX complaints filed against SU in fall 2019

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According to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Black men and women in 2017 accounted for just 7.4% of employed scientists and engineers in the United States. Hispanic or Latino men and women held 8.5% of those jobs, while Asian men and women retained 13%.

The center also found that 1.6% of employed scientists and engineers in science and engineering occupations in 2015 were Black women. Hispanic women represented 1.8% of that workforce and Asian women accounted for 6.5%. White men, meanwhile, filled 48.7% of those positions.

If hit with a complaint, Barber said schools might argue that women of color STEM programs are lawful affirmative action initiatives allowed under both Title IX and Title VI regulations.

Beyond that, she said TNG LLC advises administrators to collect on-campus data to justify the operation of single-sex programs.

College officials should be asking “‘What’s specific to our institutional climate that necessitates this?’” Barber said. “I think that will kind of give you a little bit more (of a) sound foundation for having a particular program that’s based upon a protected category, opposed to having that broader focus on the workforce.”

Published on April 27, 2020 at 8:09 am

Contact Sam: sfogozal@syr.edu | @SamOgozalek