New human rights director returns to Palouse

Ann Dougherty, the new director of Washington State University’s Center for Human Rights, began her appointment only three weeks ago, but she hit the ground running and already has identified several major challenges.

Returning to Pullman after 24 years, Dougherty (dock-er-ty) started on Jan. 13, in the midst of a nationwide debate and pending Supreme Court battle challenging the application and fairness of Affirmative Action. In addition, she finds that Washington’s hiring laws may conflict directly with federal regulations.

Having worked in the area of Affirmative Action at three higher educational institutions, she confidently notes that the issues at WSU appear “fairly familiar.” One of her primary objectives is making sure that federal, state and university policies are implemented consistently across the board.

“If we follow proper hiring practices, everyone benefits,” Dougherty said. “If candidates are kept informed and believe the process is fair, there is trust. And, building trust and respect is at the root of every good hiring process. But, when people step outside that process, it jeopardizes the whole institution.”

She added that she was very pleased to see that “creating an environment of trust and respect” was targeted as one of the WSU’s four strategic goals.

State, federal conflict

Initiative 200, which “makes it illegal to use race or gender in making hiring decisions,” presents Dougherty with one of her biggest challenges.

“It seems to conflict with federal regulations that call for hiring goals based on race and gender,” she said. “If we are underutilizing people in a certain category, federal regulations require us to set goals and demonstrate a good faith effort to correct that situation. However, we have to balance that against I-200. I don’t think there is any case law regarding I-200 yet,” she said.

But the pressure to comply with federal regulations is very real. If a university does not comply with Affirmative Action regulations, it may become ineligible to receive federal money and grants.

Roots in the Palouse

Dougherty worked for WSU’s psychology department 1974 –– 75, while her husband was completing his graduate studies. Two years later, she completed her master’s degree in psychology, and worked in the social psychology department. In 1979, the family moved to Lewiston, and Dougherty completed a law degree from the University of Idaho in 1983. She later worked for Idaho Legal Aid Services in Lewiston.

She began her career in higher education in 1989 as ombudsman and special assistant to the provost at Western Washington University. In 1993, she joined Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nev., as Affirmative Action officer, and two years later was named director of Affirmative Action at the University of Nevada Reno.

At WSU, Dougherty is the university’s senior Affirmative Action officer, administering that program and coordinating the university’s compliance efforts. Her office also monitors hiring activities for faculty, administrative/professional and classified staff for compliance with Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action regulations and policies.

She replaces Deborah Love who accepted a position as the associate vice president for diversity and equal opportunity at University of South Florida in Tampa.

Supreme Court lawsuit

One of the most publicized Affirmative Action cases currently involves the University of Michigan, where students have filed lawsuits alleging that the university used Affirmative Action policies to unfairly discriminate against them, thus denying them their civil rights.

The University of Michigan has been criticized for using a mechanistic admissions approach, which awards extra points to minority students. Briefly, this system delegates points as follows: perfect grade-point average (GPA) is worth 80 points; having a parent who attended the university, 4 points; scholarship athlete, 20; perfect Scholastic Aptitude Test score, 12; outstanding essay, 3; and being a member of a minority group, 20. Socioeconomic status and other characteristics account for other bonus points.

The former president of the University of Michigan, Lee C. Bollinger, (who is now president of Columbia University) told a group of private-college officials last week that a decision by the justices to prohibit colleges from considering race in admissions would “erode the goal of higher education in this country.”

According to a Jan. 31 article in “The Chronicle of Higher Education,” legal scholars and university lawyers closely agree that the outcome of this case will affect not only admissions policies at public universities, but private as well, with further outcomes impacting financial aid.

In California, Dougherty notes, a proposed state initiative is in the works that would require that state institutions cease keeping all hiring statistics regarding race and ethnicity. In short, the theory is that hiring statistics and Affirmative Action regulations are fueling diversity problems.

“I don’t buy into the argument that Affirmative Action is causing discrimination,” Dougherty said. “If it is administered in accordance with federal regulations, it is a tool to achieve equal opportunity. Certainly, there are cases where employers have misinterpreted and failed to use the law as intended.”

She said she doesn’t think the California proposition will succeed, since lack of statistics would make it impossible to fulfill federal regulations that result in funding to that state.

“I also think it (a system without hiring statistics) is a very idealistic model. We still have hate crimes based on race, we still have issues related to gender in hiring, and we still have pay differences based on gender.”

One common problem, she said, is that “most people think of Affirmative Action as quotas and preferences, but it’s not. It’s based on goals. Under federal regulations an institution establishes goals, then must demonstrate a good faith effort under the law to achieve those goals.”

Recruiting

When it comes to diversity, one of the major challenges for WSU is attracting people of color to come to a rural campus and region. However, federal rules have taken that into account.

For example, she said, if an employer, such as WSU, makes an offer to a candidate who represents an under-utilized category, it counts toward that organization’s good faith effort to meet its Affirmative Action goal, even if that person declines the offer. “You’re not penalized if someone doesn’t want to come to work for you,” Dougherty asserted.

Dougherty said that the Provost’s Office and the Human Relations and Diversity Office have taken creative steps to help WSU when recruiting. For instance, she said, the university has adopted a “partner accommodation policy,” which assists the potential candidate by offering his or her partner a position, if they are interested and qualified.

“Recruiting is a challenge everywhere, particularly when you are recruiting from a limited pool of people,” she said.

During current economic times, when states are reducing higher education funding, salaries are a major factor. Consequently, Dougherty said she was “impressed that President Rawlins went on record saying that if more money wasn’t provided by the state Legislature, the university would have to cap enrollment. It showed a true commitment to providing high quality educational services.”

No reverse discrimination

A common challenge to Affirmative Action, Dougherty said, is the statement that it is now referred to as “reverse discrimination.”

“There is no such thing as reverse discrimination,” she said. “It’s either discrimination, or it’s not. And, it’s not just about protection for women or minorities. It’s protection for everyone, regardless of their race, including white males.”

“For the past five years, Washington State University has had an outstanding record in meeting all federal government requirements related to Equal Employment Opportunity, Affirmative Action, and other areas of compliance,” said Felicia Gaskins, associate vice provost, Human Relations and Diversity. “Ann Dougherty comes to WSU with many years of experience in providing institutional leadership in this very important work of the university. Her leadership and guidance will be invaluable as we move forward in the implementation of the university strategic plan, particularly in relationship to hiring of faculty and staff and in addressing issues related to institutional climate.”

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