Shoucair v. Brown University

Shoucair (plaintiff) was a professor in the electrical sciences group of the division of engineering at Brown University (defendant). Shoucair’s expertise and research focused on enhancing the capabilities of electronics in extreme temperatures. The Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) gave Shoucair a “high” rating for his research. At some point during his employment, Shoucair had a falling out with another professor, Silverman, over grading policies. By the time Shoucair came up for tenure, Silverman had become the Dean of Engineering. Silverman appointed another professor, Glicksman, to convene a tenure review committee. Silverman recused from the proceedings due to his falling out with Shoucair. During this same time, Glicksman was also co-chairing a search committee to hire a new professor. Silverman announced the recommendation to hire a particular candidate, but the Affirmative Action Monitoring Committee (AAMC) refused to accept the recommendation until the department interviewed a minority candidate. Glicksman complied and brought a minority candidate to campus for an interview. Glicksman requested that Shoucair participate in the interview, which Shoucair declined, believing that the position had already been offered to the original candidate. Glicksman brought the minority candidate to Shoucair’s office unannounced and requested that Shoucair speak with the candidate. Shoucair reluctantly agreed. Soon thereafter, the tenure review committee voted to recommend Shoucair for tenure, but the committee’s report, which was authored by Glicksman, expressed concern about Shoucair’s lack of contribution to the department’s research program. The tenured faculty in the electrical-services group refused to accept the committee’s recommendation and voted to deny tenure to Shoucair. Glicksman then distributed a report to all tenured faculty in the engineering division, again questioning Shoucair’s research contributions. The engineering-division faculty, as well as Brown’s Committee on Faculty Reappointment and Tenure (ConFRaT), voted to deny tenure. Shoucair filed a lawsuit arguing he had suffered a hostile work environment and had been denied tenure due to his ethnicity. Shoucair also argued he had been retaliated against for opposing Glicksman’s interview of a minority candidate when another candidate had already been offered the position. The case went to a jury, which found for Shoucair on the retaliation claim only and awarded compensatory and punitive damages. Brown filed a motion for judgment as a matter of law, which the trial court denied. Brown appealed.