A tenure-track history faculty member whose contract wasn’t renewed after one year has lost his bid to revive a gender bias suit against Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit unanimously refused to reinstate Dr. Paul Kahan’s discrimination, retaliation, free speech and due process claims.
Slippery Rock hired Kahan in 2009 on a one-year probationary teaching contract. According to the decision, his performance was “inconsistent,” he submitted mid-term grades late, missed a mandatory faculty meeting and clashed with the departmental secretary, who described him as “weird” and “disingenuous.”
He also initially refused to extend an assignment deadline for the secretary’s son, a student in his class, who was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, the decision said.
Even so, the department’s evaluation committee, department chair and dean initially recommended contract renewal. However, they reversed their recommendation when Kahan failed to turn in his spring mid-term grades on time.
After an unsuccessful grievance, he sued the university, several administrators, the secretary and the secretary’s son under Title VII, Title IX, Section 1983 and state law. A U.S. District Court judge dismissed the case.
In upholding that decision, the appeals court found insufficient evidence to support any of Kahan’s allegations.
