AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN-LAF SUPPORT FOR PAT WASHINGTON CONTINUES:

Pat Washington Keynotes at California AAUW Conference in Riverside, CA

This is an open letter of appreciation to California AAUW from Pat Washington:

Maggie and I are eternally grateful to the American Association of University Women-Legal Advocacy Fund, especially California AAUW-LAF outgoing Vice-President Carlynne MacDonnell. We are buoyed and uplifted by the fact that national and state AAUW-LAF support for justice in the case of Washington vs. CSU Board of Trustees continues as strong as ever.

Held in Riverside, CA, April 22-24, 2005, the AAUW California State Conference was an overwhelming success. Throughout the weekend, California AAUW reaffirmed and further solidified its commitment to educational equity for all women and girls in general, and to my case in particular. We extend a special thanks to the local, state and national AAUW leaders and members who generously gave additional funds, as well as vital moral support, to my case.

The continued funding and moral support are certainly needed as we embark on a 12-18 month appeal of Superior Court Judge Jay Bloom’s decision to grant CSU a summary judgment against me. Judge Bloom opined that my colleagues at San Diego State University “just didn’t like me” and used that opinion as the basis for dismissing my case. In so doing, Judge Bloom ignored compelling evidence that I was discriminated against on the basis of race/gender combined and retaliated against for engaging in protected activities that included filing a Whistleblower complaint with the CSU Chancellor’s Office and a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (which found in my favor and recommended that I be reinstated immediately), etc. AAUW was not silenced or intimidated by this Judge’s unfair efforts to prevent my case from being fully heard in open court, nor by his efforts to allow San Diego State University to hide its discriminatory and retaliatory behaviors behind a façade of “collegiality.” On the contrary, AAUW immediately rose to challenge Judge Bloom’s “juris(im)prudence” by issuing a national press release denouncing the judge’s decision and exposing the catch-all “fourth bucket of ‘collegiality’” as a cover-up for discrimination.

If anything, the judge’s decision has galvanized supporters and intensified efforts to achieve justice in this case. That was readily apparent at this weekend’s CA-AAUW conference in Riverside. The conference was attended by nearly 400 members and guests from all over California as well as representatives from the National office. The Riverside branch of AAUW provided us with display tables in the main conference area and provided us access—in person and on paper—to all conference attendees, so that the facts of my case could be known.

I also served as the CA-AAUW-LAF speaker for the Saturday night gala. I am proud to have been selected for this role, and I continue to be energized by the warm and rousing reception I received. After my presentation, I was given a standing ovation from nearly everyone in the room—an experience that both humbles and uplifts me. By the end of the conference, I had received over a dozen invitations to speak at branches (and campuses) spanning the distance from San Diego to Oakland, as well numerous points east and west. I look forward to these opportunities to share the facts of my case and to discuss the significance of AAUW-LAF in my struggle for justice.

Thank you, California AAUW-LAF, for your advocacy, your generosity, and your commitment to promoting equity for all women in higher education. Your individual and collective actions as branch members and state and national leaders do indeed help “bend the moral arc of the universe toward justice.”

Stay strong. Your thoughts, words, and deeds continue to encourage, nurture and sustain us, and we remain forever grateful to you.

For case updates, please visit our website: http://patwashington.org.

Pat Washington, PhD