> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • The Evolution of Race in Admissions
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
News
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

Federal Agency Rejects Former MIT Professor’s Claim of Racial Bias

March 21, 2008

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has rejected a discrimination claim by a former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who drew national attention last year by going on a hunger strike to protest his tenure denial.

According to The Tech, the student newspaper at MIT, the commission said that the professor, James L. Sherley, who is black, should have filed his complaint with the agency sooner than September 2007. The newspaper said the commission ruled that the clock started ticking on the 300-day window in which complaints must be filed on the day in January 2005 when he learned he would be denied tenure.

We’re sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network. Please make sure your computer, VPN, or network allows javascript and allows content to be delivered from c950.chronicle.com and chronicle.blueconic.net.

Once javascript and access to those URLs are allowed, please refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has rejected a discrimination claim by a former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who drew national attention last year by going on a hunger strike to protest his tenure denial.

According to The Tech, the student newspaper at MIT, the commission said that the professor, James L. Sherley, who is black, should have filed his complaint with the agency sooner than September 2007. The newspaper said the commission ruled that the clock started ticking on the 300-day window in which complaints must be filed on the day in January 2005 when he learned he would be denied tenure.

The agency cited a decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “harm” was done to a professor on the day he heard that he had lost his bid for tenure, not on his last day of work.

Mr. Sherley, in a letter he provided to The Tech, contends the clock actually should have started on June 30, 2007, when MIT terminated his employment.

The commission also told Mr. Sherley, in a letter, that even if his complaint had been timely, the university “articulated bona-fide, legitimate, and nondiscriminatory reasons for its actions that may have been unfair to you but … were not causally connected or directly related to your partition and opposition in a legally protected activity that is enforced by the EEOC.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Mr. Sherley, who ended his hunger strike after 12 days and later was locked out of his lab, has responded to the commission’s decision by asking state and federal officials to investigate the agency’s ruling. —Audrey Williams June

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
    Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
  • The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
    The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
    Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin