The author had been trying, and failing, for years to land a tenure-track position in English. She had a few interviews over the years, but she knew she had been typecast as an adjunct. Administrators seemed to believe that men and women under 40 were better teachers: more creative, more energetic, more attractive. And attractiveness counts among…

At the annual meeting of the College and University Personnel Association, a lawyer in employment-discrimination cases cautioned personnel officers against random drug testing. Other practices discussed included: asking too many personal questions under the new immigration law, dismissing workers with AIDS, pressuring employees to accept…

A new bill specifically states that an entire institution is covered by antidiscrimination laws if it receives any federal support. The bill was designed to counteract the effects of a 1984 Supreme Court decision involving Grove City College, and it applies to sex, age, disability, and racial discrimination laws. (MSE)

A Supreme Court ruling last March, "Seminole Tribe of Florida vs. State of Florida," sharply restricted Congress' ability to override a state's immunity to federal lawsuits under the 11th Amendment. State institutions have already used the decision to fend off litigation on a variety of issues, including age discrimination, patents and…

Confusion in federal appellate courts over disclosure of confidential faculty peer-review files, which contain information commonly sought in discrimination suits, has provoked widespread alarm among administrators and faculty about possible changes in the way tenure candidates are evaluated. (MSE)

The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights will develop new policies to prevent sexual harassment of college students and age discrimination in admissions to graduate and professional schools. It will also complete projects to help colleges deal with incidents of racial harassment and to prevent sex discrimination in athletics. (MSE)